


Confrontations in Truth

by Ctenophore



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Druids, Episode Tag, Episode: S05e05 The Disir, F/M, Fix-It, Gen, Humor, It gets better further in i promise, Magic Revealed, Merlin confronts Mordred, Peace with the druids, Reveal Fic, Secrets, Series 5 fix-it, Telepathy, Truth Spells, eventually, leading to many truths being told, long fic, peace treaty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2018-02-13 19:43:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2162772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ctenophore/pseuds/Ctenophore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Merlin and Arthur return from the Disir and see that Mordred survived despite Merlin's efforts, Merlin decides to confront him rather than wallowing in despair. They manage to talk things out, instead of just assuming everything. Truths are told all around and and after a time, it looks like things will be alright.<br/>Then comes Morgana. And a peace treaty with druids. And a  truth spell.</p><p>It's more than one young warlock can handle.</p><p>(Author previously Jaimelepamplemousse, and summary updated)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Initial reaction

Arthur and Merlin arrived back in Camelot, hearts heavy. Both had made a tough decision. A decision that cost a life.

Merlin though, also felt a sense of accomplishment. He had ensured that Arthur's future killer would die. No one could call his morality to question, because he hadn't technically killed him, he just didn't try his hardest to stop Mordred's death.  
However, the decision was still laying heavy in Merlin's heart. He got rid of the threat Mordred posed at a high price. It was probably the hardest decision of his life, but he had chosen to tell Arthur to refuse magic. He let Arthur believe that he thought magic was inherently evil and used his position as Arthur's friend to convince him of that too.

It went against everything he had worked towards for years, and all the progress he made with Arthur becoming more open-minded. His duty was to get Arthur to see that magic could be used for good, and he had just gone and done the exact opposite. But perhaps, for the price of Arthur's life, it just might have been worth it.

Or at least, that's what Merlin was thinking before they approached the citadel.

A wave of fury sounded over Merlin.  
No- that wasn't possible- that wasn't fair!

But there he was. Mordred. All safe and sound and not dead.

Merlin subconsciously knew that Arthur would be happy to see the knight. Would probably run up there and greet him with a smile on his face. Greet his murderer.

This was it. Merlin couldn't take it anymore. He stormed up the steps, took Mordred by the collar, and dragged him inside the castle and into an empty room.

He didn't allow himself to think about how Arthur would react to his manservant manhandling his precious knight, or how others would wonder about his force or anger.

He did wonder about why Mordred was not fighting back. He had stiffened at first, obviously taken off guard, but he allowed Merlin to drag him away, when he could have easily fought for freedom.

Merlin only let go when they were safely inside an empty room. He threw Mordred down and stepped back.

Mordred looked at him and winced at the pure fury on the older man's face before looking away again.

Merlin snarled, "How?" Merlin was barely controlling himself, and only managed to spit out the one word.

Mordred glanced over at him again, in confusion. "I'm sorry?" He asked politely, perfectly calm.

This only angered Merlin further. "How are you alive?! You should be dead." Merlin was done with tact now, he just needed to know. How? Why?!

A flash of hurt crossed over Mordred's face before he covered it with his calm mask. Merlin pretended he didn't notice. Mordred started, "I'm not entirely certain what you mean. I was under the impression that you and Arthur went off to ask the Disir to spare me. Obviously, we all assumed it worked." Mordred's tone showed that he now thought different.

Merlin scowled. "Obviously nothing. The Disir gave Arthur a choice. Allow magic in the kingdom to save you, or refuse, in which case his fate would be sealed. I was able to convince him to refuse, in order to-"

"Merlin? What on earth is wrong with you!?" Merlin's angry rant was cut off by Arthur coming into the room. Both Merlin and Mordred stared at him in surprise. Both of them were too caught up in their argument that they hadn't heard the king enter.

Merlin was stuck in shock. How long had Arthur been there? How much had he heard? Merlin tried to think back to see if he had made any mention of his or Mordred's magic, or implicated either of them in anyway. Unsure, he laughed unsteadily and addressed his master. "Arthur! Imagine meeting you here! Oh me? I was just uh-"

Merlin was cut off once again, "I know you're happy to see Mordred alive, but you're just going to have to share him with the rest of us." Arthur said. He then stepped over to Mordred and put him in a friendly chokehold. "C'mon Sir Mordred, let's go celebrate your recovery with the rest of the knights."

Mordred laughed weakly. "I'm assuming part of that celebrating means going to the tavern," he managed to joke. He was also caught off guard, but managed to hide it much better than Merlin had.

The King just grinned in response and released his hold on Mordred after mussing up his hair. "Is there any other way? Let's go." 

Arthur started walking away, Mordred following after him. Arthur turned around and glanced over at Merlin, who was still standing in his spot. "Well Merlin? Are you coming or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?"

Merlin felt like laughing. But of course, after remembering everything going on, he didn't. Merlin knew Arthur was rather oblivious, but this was ridiculous.

However, if Mordred was able to quickly recover, so could he. He straightened out and replied, "I'd go, but I don't know if I'll have the money to pay. You see, my boss isn't very generous."

Arthur's answering laugh was enough to make Merlin smile. But then he locked eyes with Mordred, and remembered that he still had a lot to address. 

_This conversation isn't over,_ he told Mordred using his magic to converse telepathically as the group of three made there way over to the tavern.

Mordred nodded discreetly at him before replying, _Good. I want to hear more about your encounter with the Disir._

Merlin blanched and tried not to think about how he had basically told Mordred he tried to kill him.


	2. At the tavern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the tavern, Merlin sympathizes, not that he'd admit it, and Mordred tries to get Merlin to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is just a little taste of the confrontation to come.  
> Just beware, I'm writing this on my iPod, and it seems a decent length, but if it's really short, I'm sorry.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Inside the tavern, the Rising Sun, Merlin and all of the knights of the round table were celebrating both Arthur and Merlin's return, as well as Mordred's good health.

Merlin however, wasn't in quite a celebrating mood. He certainly didn't want to celebrate Mordred's good health, considering that's the exact thing he had just tried to change. So there he was, feeling miserable, but having to act like he was overjoyed.

Fortunately, most of the knights were so drunk by now, they couldn't tell the difference between the two emotions. The only people not completely wasted were Merlin, who was too busy brooding to drink, and Mordred.

Merlin slyly glanced over at Mordred. He was sitting a few seats over from Merlin at the bar counter. The knights were all scattered around the tavern, having a good time, some, like Merlin and Mordred were sitting on stools at the counter, others had grabbed tables, and Gwaine was following the barmaid around.

Mordred seemed content enough, but every once in a while, Merlin would catch him when his mask had slipped off. At those points, he always seemed... lonely. It only took a second for Merlin to identify the emotion, because he was so used to seeing it. He saw it almost every day in the mirror.

It's not that he didn't have great friends here in Camelot, almost the exact opposite in fact. It was just that as much as he showed these friends things about himself, he was still hiding a major part of himself. Sure he had Gauis, but he was more of a guardian, a father. Growing up he had Will, up until Merlin got him killed. Then there was Lancelot and Freya. Two friends very dear to his heart because they really knew him.

He got them killed too.

As much as he hated to admit it, Merlin understood Mordred. Surrounded by friends having a good time, but always left wondering...

Would it still be like this if they really knew who I was?

So yeah, Merlin understood. But that didn't mean he liked it or even sympathized with the knight. Mordred was still going to murder Arthur. Perhaps he even already had plans about it.

Just then, a really drunk King Arthur approached Mordred. He slammed his hand on Mordred's shoulder, nearly causing both of them to topple over. Mordred was able to right them both, and once he was sure neither of them would fall over, he turned in his seat towards the older man with a smile.

"Mordred," Arthur began, slurring badly. Merlin was suddenly glad he was sober enough to witness this, because a drunk Arthur is _hilarious._ Arthur continued, "You know, I am just soo glad you're here right now. Alive. It's just, when someone dies, it's just so sad, you know?" Arthur took a second to look deep in Mordred's eyes like he was imparting important knowledge. Mordred, for his part, nodded his head solemnly, but Merlin could see his lips curving upwards. 

Arthur grinned at seeing his words acknowledged. He grabbed the barmaid's attention and motioned for another drink. She handed it to him with a grin, and said, "There you are sire." Arthur nodded in appreciation.

Arthur then proceeded to get the attention of all of his knights. "Hey! Hey everyone, I want to say something!" It was easy enough for him to get the attention, considering he was the King of Camelot.

When all of the knights' eyes were on him, Arthur rose his glass and started, "I would just like to thank Mordred for being alive and here today." 

Arthur got many laughs for this, but he unsteadily shook them off and continued to speak, "No I mean it! I am so thankful he's alive," He defended vehemently. He finished his speech off softly and seriously, "Honestly, I'm not sure what I'd do if I lost someone else important to me." Arthur than took a long swig of his drink, and the rest of the knights soon followed.

Merlin chanced another glance at Mordred. He looked astonished. He really took Arthur's speech to heart. He smiled, and Merlin meant a real, genuine smile, not from the fake mask Mordred always put up.

Mordred was happy. He was happy because Arthur cared for him. Merlin frowned, and took a long sip from the drink he'd been nursing since they got to the tavern.

Suddenly, Mordred looked over at him. Merlin stared right back at him. They two stayed like that for a long moment, both with impassive faces. 

Merlin couldn't take it any longer, he looked down at his drink on the counter. He could almost hear Mordred sigh. Then he could hear Mordred think. _Why Emrys? Why do you hate me so much?_

Merlin winced. He really hated that Mordred could speak to him in his mind. He replied shortly, _We are not getting into that now._ Merlin looked pointedly towards Arthur and all the knights. He could feel Mordred follow his glance.

But Mordred didn't want to let it go. _Then when will we get into it? Because you seem perfectly content to either ignore my existence, or stare at me suspiciously. To be perfectly honest, I think you'll only be happy with me in your presence if I'm not breathing._

It wasn't said with malice, just a cold, emptiness, that seemed almost crueler. Merlin winced again. _It was never my intention to kill,_ Merlin assured Mordred.

Mordred face finally contorted from his calm mask. He scoffed. _That's not the impression you gave off earlier._

Merlin sighed. He knew that technically, Mordred was right, but still... _That's not- you don't understan-_

 _Then explain it to me!_ roared Mordred. He abruptly stood up, nearly knocking his chair over. The loud scraping caught some attention, but most were too drunk and happy to care, and Mordred ignored them, staring intently at Merlin.

Merlin sighed, _Please, can we not do this here?_

Mordred simpered. _Fine,_ He said curtly, before stalked to the exit of the tavern. 

As he passed by Merlin, Merlin watched him pass by, confused. "Where are you going?" he called, out loud.

Mordred didn't pause his brisk strides. He replied simply, "Not here." Mordred then proceeded outside.

Merlin recognized his cue. He glanced over at all of the other knights, joking and laughing, then stood up. He smiled gently and nodded at the barmaid, who had been looking at him and Mordred curiously. Merlin sighed once again, downed the rest of his drink, and followed Mordred out into the cold and dreary night.


	3. The confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confession time holds a little yelling, and lots of sighing, but an eventually understanding also comes to pass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here it is, the confrontation! Don't worry though, this isn't the end.  
> Happy reading!

Mordred leads Merlin back into the castle.  
He never slows down from his brisk pace, leaving Merlin to trail a few steps behind him like a lost puppy. 

It was late, as they had been in the tavern for a while, but they still saw a number of people milling about inside the castle. They gathered a few strange looks, a knight leading a manservant around, but Mordred just ignored them while Merlin gave tight smiles, so there were no questions.

Merlin was really well acquainted with the layout of the castle, so he was easily able to realize they were heading towards the knights' chambers.

Presumably, Mordred was taking Merlin to his quarters. Realistically, it made sense. Much more privacy, and no one would walk in without knocking first.

Which would be good, as they would probably end up talking about things that could lead to both of them getting arrested and executed. 

However, as Merlin walked through the door post and into Mordred's personal chambers, the door slamming behind him thanks to Mordred's magic, it also made him slightly uneasy. Or actually, extremely uneasy.

Because complete privacy also meant no witnesses.

Mordred was standing at the far side of the room, looking out his window. Merlin looked around curiously. He was in the king's chambers every day, but he'd never been in a knight's chamber before. It was roughly the same set-up, just smaller and less grand. But he was a knight, so it was still a lot bigger and nicer than Merlin's room.

Merlin stepped deeper into the room. He stopped before he got too close to Mordred though, still wary.

They stood like that for a while. Merlin watching Mordred look out the window. Merlin didn't like the tense silence, but he also didn't want to be the one to break it. He wouldn't know what to say anyway. So, he watched and he waited.

Eventually, Mordred spoke, informing Merlin, "I warded the room when I first settled in- you can never be too careful when you have magic in Camelot- no one will be able to hear any noise from in here." Somehow, this didn't help Merlin's unease. After a beat of silence, Mordred continued, "So Emrys? Why is it that you hate me?"

Merlin winced. "Could you please not call me that out loud? Do you want to get both of us arrested?" He had meant for it to be somewhat of a joke, but it came out as a serious question.

Mordred spun around and stared at Merlin with narrowed eyes. As they were not in public, he saw fit to completely let go of any mask he had left. "Let's start with that," he said in a cold tone. "Why don't you trust me?" 

Merlin narrowed his own eyes. "Perhaps it's because you have the ability and knowledge to get me executed. And with me out of the way, you could be unstoppable, especially if you teamed up with your best friend, Morgana!" Merlin snapped

Mordred gave Merlin a dirty look. "Morgana was once your friend as well," he responded. 

Merlin looked down, not able to look Mordred in the eyes, because well, that was true. He had tied Mordred with Morgana, so once Morgana went evil, it made sense that Mordred would be on her side. But then, Mordred had connected with Morgana when she was still just the king's ward. Merlin had connected with her then as well, she was beautiful and lovely, and terribly nice. So how could he condemn Mordred for something that Merlin would be guilty of as well?

Just then Merlin caught himself, he had wavered, forgotten his objective, because part of his reasoning had been invalid. But what Merlin knew more than anything was that Mordred's destiny was to kill Arthur, and Merlin's destiny would always be to save him. And so Merlin continued the fight. "Perhaps, but that was before she decided on her mission to kill Arthur and take over Camelot. So what's your excuse for getting friendly with her afterwards, even bringing slaves to help her out?" Merlin demanded.

Mordred glared, but complied, explaining. "You were here, and able to see the progression as Morgana slowly lost herself. The only memory I had of Morgana was her protecting me. I couldn't imagine that women acting as evilly as I heard, so I went to see her to- I'm not sure. See if it was true? Or see her perspective of it maybe."

"Oh? So it was a research mission then? Learn anything interesting?" Merlin asks sarcastically. But really he was deflecting. Mordred had some very strong reasoning, if Merlin hadn't known the reasoning behind Morgana's descent, perhaps he would have done the same? No no, that's not possible, because Morgana is a threat to Arthur, just as Mordred is, it makes sense that he'd get perspective from that witch.

"Yes, actually." Mordred responds boldly. Merlin blinking, not expecting that response. Was Mordred admitting that he sympathized with Morgana? "While there I learned that the Morgana I knew and loved is gone. The woman that is left is merely a poor imitation, obsessive, paranoid, and angry with none of Morgana's love and care."

Merlin' breath caught in his throat. That was... exactly how Merlin felt about the Morgana problem. He had already grieved for the beautiful women that he once knew, because all that was left was her shadow, a dangerous monster. This was a problem. Mordred was continuously making more and more sense, and Merlin could not take that because Mordred is a- will be a murderer. And so without thinking about it, Merlin lashes out, letting out all his pent up anger and confusion. "Oh, like you're not angry? Or don't you remember our last conversation all those years ago? 'I shall never forgive this, and I shall never forget.'" Merlin could see that Mordred was getting angry, but he couldn't stop. He continued to taunt, "I do hope you haven't forgotten Mordred. Because I haven't. If you want to kill Arthur you'll have to go through me."

Mordred snarled in response, "Oh, because you're just all that aren't you? What, you think I'd have to kill before I even think about touching Arthur?" Mordred said this in anger, however he knew he wouldn't think of ever hurting Arthur, or even Emrys for that matter. 

Merlin however, did not know this, and seethed at the threat he perceived. "I AM EMRYS!" he roared. "I am the greatest sorcerer there will ever be! You dare threaten my king?!"

Mordred glared in response. "You don't think I haven't heard those exact lines before?! I've been hearing about you and your greatness since I was born! I used to look up to you, you know. My favorite bedtime stories were about you. When you noticed me in the city in Camelot, and I recognized that it was you, that you were Emrys! I was thrilled at being able to meet you, even under those circumstances." Mordred scoffed, shaking his head. "If only I'd known then that your power may have been great, but that didn't stop you from being a coward!" Mordred snarled in distaste. He had felt the full impact of meeting his childhood hero and realizing that he wasn't as good as he had dreamt him to be. He finished coldly, "And it certainly doesn't mean that you wouldn't try to kill me for no good reason."

Merlin sucked in a breath. It was awful, but Merlin couldn't dispute it. He had tried to kill Mordred, without thinking about the morality, his only thought to protect Arthur.

Mordred has huffing from his outburst, and Merlin had nothing to say in response. It remained silent for a long few moments. Once Mordred's anger dispelled, he broke the silence with a heavy whisper. "You trusted me not to rat you out before, when I was just a young boy. So what's happened? What has changed since then?" Mordred was desperate now. This is what he had wanted to know all along, he wanted to know why Merlin refused to treat him as a friend, instead Emrys would only look at him with suspicion.

Merlin closed his eyes to compose himself. He was no longer angry now, but solemn. He went into this argument thinking that he was on the right side, that he had an infinte number of reasons not to trust Mordred. However, now it seemed he only had the one. What he knew of Mordred's destiny.

Mordred continued speaking while Merlin was lost in thought. Merlin opened his eyes to look at him. Mordred was staring at him, earnestly. "Morgana believed that Arthur and Uther were one and the same. I believe differently. I hated Uther. I can admit to that. He was a tyrant, and he didn't treat his subjects the way a righteous king should. But Arthur, as much as Uther tried to stop it with his teachings, is a much better person. And he makes a much better king." Mordred spoke with surety, but surely that couldn't be what he actually thought? Why then would he go on to kill Arthur? Mordred continued, "Arthur is courageous and strong, as was Uther, but Arthur's also kind and merciful. He is the best kind of man to lead a country, and I am so happy that I get to be a knight of Camelot, under King Arthur, with so many amazing knights by my side. Being in Camelot, with people who trust me, and are just happy to see me alive," Mordred repeated Arthur's words with an incredulous and wondrous tone, like he still couldn't believe Arthur had said that to him. "is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I am happier now, then I have ever been in my life." Mordred gave Merlin a true smile that spoke volumes.

But Merlin couldn't just accept that. "I don't trust you," He started, and watched as Mordred's expression falled and he became weary. "I can't trust you because I know you're going to kill Arthur."

Mordred stared at Merlin with complete confusion. "Were you even listening to anything I said? I would _never_ hurt Arthur. Not only did he save my life in the past, but now, well I consider him a dear friend."

Merlin narrowed his eyes. He had always assumed that Mordred, if unaware of his destiny, had at least always had plans to kill Arthur. Was it possible, Mordred really had no such ill will towards Arthur? He said slowly, "No, I mean, I know you will kill Arthur because I saw it happen." Mordred frowned, trying to decipher what he meant. Merlin was less sure of himself than ever. "There was a Druid seer. I met him as he lay dying. There was nothing I could do- I've never been very good at healing magic- and the last thing he did was show me a scene from a battle. Arthur's last battle." Merlin stared off into the distance, as he recalled the scene. "He spent his last minutes warning me about Arthur's death. Warning me, that you would be the one to kill Arthur."

Mordred stared at Merlin in utter horror. "A Druid seer?" he asked in a whisper. Merlin nodded in confirmation. Mordred took a long breath. "But- I would never!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "You have to believe me, I have no such intentions."

Merlin bit his lip, unsure of himself. Finally, he decided, "I believe you." And he did. As something occurred to him though, Merlin suddenly became pensive. "You know, what happened with Morgan started off rather similar to this. You see, the Great Dragon always warned me about you, presumably because he knew about the vision the Druid Seer showed me. Well, the Great Dragon also warned me about 'the witch Morgana' and how she would be evil."

"Wait I'm sorry, you were warned about both me and Morgana from a dragon? And you chose to listen to him?" Mordred asked. Merlin hadn't even thought about mentioning the dragon, but in retrospect, Mordred wouldn't know much about the dragon, or that Merlin would be in contact with it.

"Yes, but that's a different story that I'll tell you at a different time. Just know that I trusted him, for better or worse, as he had advised me well in the past. Anyway, in the beginning, I ignored him about both you and Morgana. You were just a young child, and I knew how kindhearted Morgana was. You know how your story ended. But with Morgana, I didn't entirely believe him, but I heeded his and Gauis's advisement. When Morgana discovered she had magical powers, she went to Gauis. She trusted him. But he was fearful for her of Uther finding out, so he tried to convince her she was wrong. When I found out about her, I could have comforted her, and showed her that she was not alone." 

Merlin took a breath from his storytelling. He continued sadly, "But I didn't. I was scared about what would happen if she found out about me, and she did become evil. I still tried to help her, but not as much as I could have. Not as much as I should have. She felt so alone, when she didn't have to. So when Morgause came," Merlin gave a sad smile, "it was like I practically pushed Morgana into her arms. And then I poisoned her, which I don't think helped too much."

Merlin sighed before concluding, "Basically, what I'm saying is that me listening to the prophecy, and trying to stop it, is what caused Morgana to be evil." He locked eyes with Mordred. "It's possible that me listening to the Druid Seer about what you might possibly do and pushing you away could be what ends up turning you away from Arthur and Camelot. And I don't want that to happen, not again" Merlin realizes this possibility only as soon as he says it. He feels awful now, condemning someone for something they may or may not do. Would it truly have been his actions that might lead to Arthur's death in the Seer's vision? 

They stand in silence for a moment, both deep in thought. Suddenly, Mordred strides closer towards Merlin. He stands right before him, and waited for Merlin to look him in the eyes. "It won't happen," he solemnly promised in a clear voice "Emrys, you have nothing to worry about from me."

Merlin smiles slowly. "Yes, I think you're right." But then he sighed. "Mordred, I was wrong about you and your intentions. I nearly killed you over something I only suspected you would do and I was just so wrong and I don't know-"

Mordred cut Merlin off with a gentle smile. He eased Merlin's mind by saying simply, "I forgive you."


	4. Confessions Galore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knights of the round table and Merlin and Guinevere equals fluff and fun times and Gwen controlling Arthur (in a good way) and letters and angst and confessions and lies and lots of other things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I really didn't know any of this was gonna happen. Also, this is a super long chapter. I also didn't know that was gonna happen. This chapter's just full of surprises.
> 
> I really should plan out my chapters. Thanks for reading anyway!

Merlin approached the door to the king and queen's chambers, arms full with platters of food. He stared at the door for a second, then at his occupied hands. Merlin sighed, then turned around, and used his head.

 _knock knock knock_ he banged the back of his head against the door. "Arthur?" he called out.

No response. He tried again. _knock knock knock_ "Arthur!" He called out, louder, but to no avail.

Merlin frowned at his plan having failed. He thought for a moment, before understanding his mistake.

 _knock knock knock_ "Gwen?"

"Come in, Merlin," an amused feminine voice bidded him from inside the room. 

Merlin grinned before realizing he still had a dilemma. He sighed, wondering if he could try to use his foot to open the door, as his hands were full. Before he got desperate enough to actually go through with his thoughts, someone interrupted him.

"Hey Merlin, you want a little help with that?" Merlin turned to see a grinning Elyan. He opened the door, then took a platter from Merlin and lead them into the room.

"Oh, thanks Elyan, I didn't see you there," Merlin said, depositing the food onto Arthur's table. 

Elyan smirked at him, "Yeah, I noticed." He then turned towards the king and queen of Camelot who were watching the manservant and knight with faint amusement. "Your majesty," he said, bowing to Arthur. Arthur waved him off with a scoff "Your highness," Elyan said, curtsying to his sister.

"Elyan!" Guinevere chided with a smile. She then said warmly, "Thank you Merlin, for breakfast, and thank you Elyan, for helping Merlin.

Arthur yawned and went to grab at some bread. Gwen slapped his hand before he could reach it though. He looked up at her with a betrayed expression. Guinivere scoffed and pointedly looked at Merlin and Elyan, who were now both standing politely in front of the table.

Arthur rolled his eyes but said, "Thank you, Elyan. Please, sit down and eat with us." Arthur gestured loosely to one of the empty chairs.

Elyan grinned. "Don't mind if I do," he replied, taking the offered chair next to his sister.

Guinevere glanced over at Arthur, raising a delicate eyebrow. Arthur sighed, and looked over at Merlin, who was watching Arthur with a wide grin. Arthur grabbed a cup from one of the platters and gestured up to Merlin with it. "Merlin. Pour me some juice."

Merlin's smile never faltered, he picked up the pitcher of grape juice and did as Arthur bid him. Arthur nodded in thanks, which made Merlin smile wider.

Guinevere rolled her eyes at her husband's antics, but allowed them. The three sitting down began to eat, with Merlin waiting on them. 

The conversation was all light-hearted, but every once in a while, Arthur would glance at Merlin suspiciously. Eventually, he snapped at asked, "Alright Merlin, what's your problem?"

Merlin, caught unaware filling up Elyan's glass, looked up curiously. "I'm sorry?" he replied, a polite, but happy smile on his face. "I don't know what you mean."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "That! I could handle you being on time, it happens a few times a year, and even you remembering to knock, and bring breakfast sometimes. But you're also extremely chipper. I don't believe you've stopped smiling since you arrived here."

Merlin bright his hand to his face and felt his smile. "Oh, I guess you're right. I didn't even realize it," he shrugged, grinning brightly.

Arthur stared at him in disbelief. "So? What are you so happy about?" he asked, half-curious, half-regretting his decision to ask already.

Merlin contemplated that for a moment. Then he shook his head, grinning. "Nothing in particular. I suppose I've just got nothing to be sad about. Merlin said this in absolute truth. After realizing that Mordred was not a threat to Arthur last night, he had a lot less to worry about, and apparently was in a better mood for it. He had never thought about how easily swayed his emotions were before now.

Meanwhile, Arthur was staring at him incredulously. "Your mind Merlin," Arthur started off, seriously, " is so _simple!_ " 

For the first time, Merlin frowned. Gwen elbowed the king while Elyan just laughed. Gwen defended Merlin, "Well, he has got a point Arthur, hasn't he? If you get rid of all the negativity in your life, well then, you'll only be left with the positive."

Arthur took a moment and considered this view. He watched Merlin closely, before asking, "So? What negativity did you get rid of?"

Merlin stared at Arthur for a second in seemingly incomprehension. However, the three in the room could easily see the desperation as Merlin tried to think of something to say. But what could he say? He couldn't tell them the truth, because then he'd have to tell them why he had been suspicious of Mordred in the first place. Maybe Merlin could jokingly say he was going to quit his job, so he wouldn't have to deal with his prat of a master anymore? But he'd been silent too long to make a joke about it. Then what else could he say?

"Uh, Gauis found someone else to clean the leech tank, so I won't have to worry about it any longer," Merlin tried, sounding confident with the flimsy excuse.

Arthur raised an eyebrow in an amused manner. He played along, asking, "Is that so? And who did he get to agree to that?"

Merlin thought for a long moment before exclaiming, "Leon!"

"Uh, yes?" came a reply. Merlin spun around to see a curious Leon enter the room, fiddling with something in his hands. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?" He looked around at Elyan eating with the king and queen, and at Merlin standing stock-still with wide, guilty eyes.

"Not at all!" Arthur barely managing not to sound sarcastic. Honestly, all he had wanted was a nice breakfast with his wife, and this is what he gets...

"Uh, okay then," Leon glanced at Merlin uneasily, before standing tall before the sullen king. "Well, I'm actually here because there's a women from-" Leon stopped abruptly when he realized no one was paying attention to his report.

Instead everyone was staring with rapt attention at Merlin. The looks that previously contained amusement at his evasiveness were gradually changing to suspicion. 

Merlin thought desperately. "Uh, did I say Leon? Ha my bad. I meant, uh, Gwaine! And Percival! Yeah, that's right, Gwaine and Percival," Merlin managed to say, talking fast, but with long pauses in between phrases.

"Excuse me! You should only talk about someone when their back is turned." Another knight came ambling in, with yet another knight trailing behind. Gwaine walked up to the table, greeted Arthur, "Hey, Princess," and snatched up an apple. Percival followed behind him, and greeted everyone with a silent nod before going to stand next to Elyan.

Arthur glared at Gwaine, Elyan rolled his eyes and turned towards Percival, Merlin started sweating profusely in nervousness, Leon looked agitated, and everyone started talking at once.

"I am your king, you cannot call me names or walk into my chambers unannounced. Show me some respect, or I'll have you detained for treason."

"Terribly sorry, princess, it won't happen again. Besides, aren't those both things Merlin does? You like him better than me, don't you? I'm offended."

"They really fire each other up, don't they?"

"Personally, I think Gwaine's more than asking for it most of of the time."

"Oh ah did I say Gwaine and Percival? That's my bad. Completely my bad. I actually meant to say, uh, well I mean there was-"

"Sire, It's rather important. A woman from one of the outlying villages came in reporting that she saw-"

But then, the door opening yet again caught everyone's attention. "Uh, hello? Sire?" A familiar, young voice called. Mordred stepped into the room, glancing at all of the people cautiously.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Mordred. Please, join the party," Arthur said falsely, gesturing wildly to his chambers invaded by his knights.

Mordred, feeling rather unwelcome, looked back at the door as if planning escape.

Guinevere took pity on him. "Please, Mordred, ignore Arthur," Mordred smiled thankfully at her, and glanced at Merlin quickly as if for assent, before stepping further into the room. Gwen smiled kindly and continued in a conspiratorial whisper, "He gets rather cranky in the mornings."

Arthur looked at Guinevere in fond betrayal, but before he could say anything, Leon interrupted.

"Sire, please, I'm here on official business, there's an important situation at hand." Leon looked stressed and serious, which caused Arthur to frown.

"Alright Leon, what's so important?" Arthur asked.

Leon looked around to assess the people around him. Deeming Guinevere, the knights, and Merlin trustworthy, he continued. "A woman from one of the outer villages in Camelot came to report that she saw Morgana and her dragon while she was out collecting wood."

Everyone stared at Leon in shock. Arthur stood up and approached Leon. "She was inside the borders?" he asked.

Leon nodded. "Just barely, but yes, inside the borders," Leon confirmed.

Arthur furrowed his brow. "This woman, did Morgana see her? Did she what Morgana was doing?"

Leon looked down at his hands. "Actually yes, Morgana did see her." He looked up and sighed at all the confused looks he was getting. He continued, "Morgana didn't kill the woman, but instead sent her here to deliver something. A letter." 

It was only then that everyone realized that Leon had been holding a letter in his hands. Arthur reached out to take it, but Leon withheld it, not able to look anyone in the eyes. "It's just, it's not addressed to you, Sire," Leon said, nervously.

Arthur frowned and drew his hand back. "Then who is it for?" Leon sighed and held the letter up for Arthur to see the name written in beautiful script. He'd recognize his sister's handwriting anywhere, crazy or no. He also recognized the name written down. Arthur gasped lightly, and grabbed the letter out of Leon's hand to closer observe it. He breathed out, "Emrys."

Merlin's heart just about stopped. He could feel Mordred's eyes staring at him in worry. Without thinking, Merlin sent unworded feelings of comfort towards him. He felt Mordred calm down, and then there was a presence in his head. 

_Is it possible she knows about you?_ Mordred asked.

Merlin thought for a moment before shaking his head subtly and reassuring Mordred, _I don't think she does, no._ Merlin said unconvincingly. To be honest, it was more than possible for Morgana to have figured out that he was Emrys. She was a strong seer, she could have had a vision about it ages ago. 

But Merlin didn't share this possibility with Mordred. Merlin could still feel Mordred looking at him. Merlin could feel the concern, but he didn't further address Mordred, or his worries.

Outside of them, a different conversation was going on.

"Arthur are you sure it's a good idea to read this? Who knows what Emrys might do if he finds out," Guinevere reasoned calmly with her husband.

But Arthur's bullheadedness persisted. "Oh come on. Do you really think that Morgana didn't plan on me reading this? She would know I wouldn't want this Emrys to get his hands on a letter from an evil sorceress, at least not without me reading it first," he said this while pacing in front of the table, looking at the folded paper. "Besides," he continued trying to convince himself, "I don't know who or where Emrys is. What else am I supposed to do?"

With that in mind, Arthur opened the letter cautiously, then began to read aloud,

_Dearest Emrys,_

_Do not think you can hide from me forever. I know that you are a trusted part of Arthur's court, and have a very heavy influence over Arthur's decisions._

Merlin took a quick intake of breath, thinking of the major decision he had recently convinced Arthur to make regarding a certain Druid and magic in Camelot. He hoped Arthur disregarded that part of the letter. Mordred could feel his nervousness, and gave him a questioning glance. Merlin shook his head slightly. Merlin's assurance seemed to have no effect on Mordred's worry, but he conceded

Arthur continued, oblivious to the unspoken conversation between his manservant and knight.

_That being said, I do hope we could learn to get along. I don't believe our loyalties and goals are too different._

Merlin snorted derisively. Not too different indeed. But then Arthur continued.

_In the end, we both want the same thing, correct? We both wish for magic to be used in Camelot. I know you feel your roundabout plan is how it should be done, and I feel the same way about my direct plan. However, we're both wise people. I'm sure we will work out a compromise somehow._

Merlin shifted uncomfortably. Technically, she was right. They were both just using different means for the same result. The similarity unsettled Merlin. But perhaps this meant she was open to a compromise? Preferebly a compromise with no bloodshed.

Merlin could feel Mordred's eyes yet again. This time he ignored them. Arthur continued. 

_Now, to my dear brother. Of course, I know you will have confiscated this letter to read it for yourself._

At this point, Arthur gave an immature pointed look at Guinevere. She would have replied with an exaggerated eye roll under less stressful circumstances. 

_I ask a favor of you. Call a meeting with all members of your court. Read the beginning of this letter to them. Then, tell Emrys to meet me at dawn tomorrow morning in the place he stole something from me. A fomorrah, not that I'm expected you to know what that is._

Suddenly, Guinevere gave a sharp look at Merlin. Merlin winced. Gwen had been there when he was under the control of the fomorrah. He never told her how he had stole the fomorrah from Morgana without dying. Gwen just gave him an accusing stare, but didn't bring it up, at least for that moment. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief.

_Now, you might be laughing to yourself. Why oh why would I do that, you ask yourself. I would never help a sorceress consort with a sorcerer._

_I'll tell you why, dear brother. It's because of the spies I have in Camelot, of course. The spies who will, on my word, follow through on my plan, a plan that will end very badly for your dear wife. Yes Arthur, I am threatening poor little Guinevere. That is, if I do not get what I want._

Arthur finished the paragraph in a strangled voice. He looked at Guinevere desperately. Merlin strengthened his resolve, Morgana was evil, just as she always was. Elyan and the rest of the knights looked at their queen in horror. Elyan grabbed her hand in his and gripped it tightly. She gave him a small smile, and nodded at Arthur to finish reading.

 _Now, I know you will pass the message on for me, so thank you for that. But, if you will, pass on one more message. This one shouldn't be too hard, as he's probably already in the same room as you._

_Tell Merlin-_ Arthur cut off immediately. He, along with the rest if the room stared at Merlin with suspicion and confusion. Merlin looked panicked. 

_Oh no, oh no oh no no no. She knows, she knows doesn't she?!_ Merlin shouted to Mordred.

Mordred looked panicked as well. _I don't know. We can't know that yet. Just-just wait for Arthur to finish._

Merlin shot a quick look at Mordred, then turned back to Arthur and took a deep breath. He nodded at the king, telling him to go on.

Arthur wasn't happy about it, but he continued.

_that I have not forgotten. And I never forgive._

_That is all. Yours truly,  
Morgana_

Merlin subconsciously noted that she had not used a surname, just Morgana. He would have realized it was very telling, if his focus had not been elsewhere.

However, most of his attention was taken by trying to think of a plausible explanation. To him, it was obvious that Morgana was still incredibly sore about the attempted poison attempt. But to people like Arthur who didn't know Merlin had poisoned Morgana, it was a little less obvious.

Arthur stood tall and addressed Merlin with a blaze in his eyes. "What is she talking about Merlin?" Arthur demanded, quietly.

The room was hushed. Merlin glanced around, looking for help from someone, anyone, but most wouldn't meet his eyes. Gwaine and Mordred were the only ones.

Merlin idly wonders that if he hadn't let Lance die, he might be able to meet his eyes too. Merlin shook the thought off.

Gwaine stood brazenly, looking ready to interfere on Merlin's behalf any second. Gwaine was incredibly loyal, more loyal than Merlin deserved. He stared at Merlin in confidence, sure that Merlin would be able to easily explain what Morgana meant, that it wasn't truly Merlin's fault. Merlin couldn't look him in the eyes for long. Because it was him. He had poisoned Morgana.

Mordred was staring at him curiously, almost accusatory, but not quite. He wanted to understand Merlin, that seemed to always be what he had wanted. Merlin didn't want to think about his fragile relationship with Mordred. He turned back towards Arthur.

He stumbled through words, trying to find something to defend himself with, "Okay-the thing is-I don't-I mean-"

"Merlin!" Arthur interrupts loudly. "Do you know what Morgana is talking about?" He speaks in his kingly voice, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him.

"Well, kinda? I mean-it's a long story!" Merlin persisted desperately to get out of the situation. He tried, "hey, I think I hear Gauis calling me, I'm just going to-"

"Is he asking you to clean the leech tank?" Arthur asked coldly, calling Merlin out on his earlier lie.

Merlin flinched. This couldn't be happening. All of his lies were unraveling. It wouldn't be to long before...

 _It's all right, Emrys. Just calm down, everything will be fine._ Mordred's warm presence in his head did little to ease Merlin's mind, because it just reminded Merlin of all the secrets he was keeping from his friends.

Merlin took a deep breath. "Please Arthur, you don't understand-"

"Then make me!" Arthur shouted, glaring at Merlin.

Merlin tried one last time. "It's a long story."

"Then make it short," Arthur commanded, curtly.

Merlin looked at him desperately, trying to make him see how much Merlin couldn't tell him the truth about this. Arthur sighs, than orders, "Everyone out!" Merlin watches as all of his friends leave the scene, for the mot part not looking at him. Gwen eyes him, and gives him a small smile, most likely an attempt to reassure him. Gwaine looked like he wanted to argue to stay, but Percival puts a hand on his shoulder. Gwaine lets himself be let out, but catches Merlin's eye, and Merlin gives him a small nod to let him now he'll be alright. Whether that's true or not is not important. 

Mordred leaves last, but doesn't look at Merlin, instead he speaks to him _Good luck Merlin_ Merlin takes comfort in Mordred's presence in his head, but doesn't respond. He's too busy trying to figure out what to say to Arthur.

Once everyone else is out of the room, Arthur stood tall, and demanded, "Now explain"

Merlin took a deep breath, and started, "Fine. I think she's referring to the time I poisoned her." Merlin said shortly.

Arthur looked at Merlin, bewildered. "Okay, make it a little bit longer than that," Arthur ordered, uneasily.

Merlin sighed. "Do you remember that time when all of Camelot was under a sleeping spell?" At Arthur's affirmative nod, he continued, "And you must remember how even though we weren't there when it was cast, we still eventually felt the effects. So, everyone in the city succumbed to the spell. Everyone except Morgana."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "I remember. I also remember that you told me Gauis had given her a cure.

Merlin looked away. "Yeah, that's not exactly what it was. You see, for that strong a curse, the sorceress would have needed-"

"Hang on," Arthur interrupted. "How would you know what a spell would need?"

Merlin shifted uneasily. "Well, I uh, I read lot," Merlin replied pathetically.

Arthur lifted an eyebrow. "You read books about magic. You realize those kinds of books are forbidden in Camelot?" Arthur challenged.

"Well, I didn't always live in Camelot, did I?" Merlin responded.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "You know Merlin, what exactly is your stance on magic?"

Merlin gaped like a fish for a bit, so Arthur sighed and continued, "Because you had your friend Will who was a sorcerer, and you tried to protect him, but just the other day, When we were thinking about what to tell the Disir, you told me that Magic had no place in Camelot. So which is it?"

Merlin stared in horror at Arthur. Why would he ask that now? After he had lied about magic not having a place in Camelot, because that would beg the question why would Merlin lie, especially with Mordred's life on the line and oh man Merlin was so screwed, how would he get out of this

Arthur was looking at him with something akin to amusement, but not quite because he still wasn't sure what to think about Merlin. "Are you done staring off into space? Do you want to answer my question now? What is your stand on magic?"

Merlin looked up at Arthur guiltily. "Can I- can I please just finish my story?"

Arthur frowned. "Fine," he ruled. "But this conversation isn't over."

Merlin shoved his fear of that fatal conversation under his mass of current feelings and continued. "As I was saying, a curse that strong and the sorceress would have needed an anchor, to tie the curse to someone." Merlin could see slight understanding in Arthur's, and he continued, "Morgause used Morgana. Morgana had no idea."

Merlin was staring into space, remembering. "She was completely ignorant. She was still our friend. She didn't hate you. Though, at that time, she had magic, so she probably hated Uther already."

"Wait, hold on a second, what do you mean she had magic then?" Arthur asked.

Merlin mock glared. "I mean what I said," he replied obviously. Then he looked at Arthur morosely. "Morgana started... developing...her powers a while before she turned truly evil. At that point, she was still Morgana. Our friend Morgana."

Arthur looked like he wanted to ask more, but instead he just gestured for Merlin to continue

Merlin took a deep breath. "But, she was what was keeping the curse intact. The only I could do to stop the curse was to... kill her. And so I grabbed some Hemlock from Gauis's cabinet and-" Merlin cut off, not sure how to continue, he glanced up to see Arthur's reaction. He looked horrified, and understanding, and sad, so sad, and so many emotions and Merlin couldn't take it anymore, he hastened to explain himself. "And you left to get the cart for your father, and she turned to me, and you know what she said? She thanked me. She thanked me for keeping her secret and for being a trustworthy friend, and do you know what I did?" Merlin asked rhetorically.

He didn't receive a response, not that he really expected one, and so he continued, "I put Hemlock in my water, and I offered some to her," Merlin said in a voice that he hardly recognized as his own. "I used her trust in me against her and I killed her. Of course, Morgause came, and I bartered Morgana's life for Morgause lifting the curse. Eventually, she gave in, and I showed her the poison I used so she could create an antidote." 

Merlin was staring at the ground, not courageous enough to look Arthur in the eye. But then, he felt a hand on shoulder. He looked to see Arthur standing before him solemnly. He spoke, "You did what you had to do Merlin." Then he shook his head. "No, you did the right thing.

Merlin stared in horror. "No, no! There were so many other things that I could have done! I could have-I could've found another way to stop the curse, anything but that!"

Merlin turned towards Arthur again. He stared up at him sadly, "Arthur I don't- I can't"

"-It's okay Merlin. Everything's okay. I forgive you. And I'm sure Morgana, our Morgana, would forgive you as well."

Merlin nearly broke down right there. But he knew how uncomfortable it would make Arthur, so he resisted. "I-I'm sorry for not telling you."

Arthur gives Merlin n unreadable look. "Merlin, just how many things are there that you haven't told me about?"

And it hurts. It hurts because once, that would have been a joke, the punchline being none, because why would he every have need to keep secret from Arthur. Merlin felt like he was holding the future of his friendship with Arthur in hi fingertips, "Please Arthur, please don't ask me that."

Arthur stares at Merlin, wanting to understand They stood in silence for a moment. Then Arthur suddenly looked down at the forgotten letter that was crumpled in his hands. "Merlin please," Arthur started.. He cleared his voice, then tried again, "Merlin please leave. Take the day off. I've, I've got a lot of things to deal with today. 

Merlin nodded in understanding, but couldn't help jesting, "Would you like me to send up George?"

Arthur's head snapped up to Merlin's in horror. "No, no-anything but that horrid man." But he was smiling, so Merlin counted it as a win.

"Now Arthur," Merlin scolded. "George is a perfectly nice man, he just has some...peculiar...interests."

Arthur shook his head in disgust. "I would rather die then have that man as my manservant. Now, what are you still doing here? I believe I told you that you have the day off. Now scram." Arthur ordered, hitting Merlin in the arm with the letter.

Merlin left, laughing. It was good for things to be back to normal with Arthur. Honestly, he and Arthur never really had heart-to-hearts like this, and while it was good to get things off his chest, he was much more comfortable with their normal way of teasing each other to show affection.

As he exited the room, he saw Mordred slumped on the ground next to the door, staring into space with a frown. Had he really been waiting for Merlin the whole time? "Come on you lazy bum, let's get going!" Merlin said, grinning.

Mordred stared up in amazement, before quickly clambering to his feet. He ran a hand through his curly hair. "Where uh, where are we going?"

Merlin appreciated the effort at nonchalance. "Oh, anywhere really. I've got the whole day off, and Gauis doesn't know, so he can't force me to do chores."

Mordred smiled. "The whole day, is that right? Well, I'm sure we can think of something."

Merlin grinned again. _Well? What are you waiting for? I'll race you!_ Childishly, he raced off before Mordred replied, no destination in mind.

With a happy laugh, Mordred took off, chasing after Merlin.


	5. In the Marketplace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Mordred goof off a bit, until Gwaine comes and things get serious. Will more secrets be spilt? And who is that mysterious women in black?

In the end, Merlin and Mordred decided to explore the lower town. Merlin has only gone there before to help Gauis with deliveries and Mordred hadn't spent much time there either. So they wander around the marketplace, looking at all the city's delicacies.

As they stroll through, they pass many different types of shops. A seamstresses, a fresh fruit stall, a jewelers that uses only precious metals, and other things that celebrated luxury. Camelot's economy was rather well off, and had been since Arthur had become king, as Merlin was proud to note.

However, the two silent men payed no attention to their surroundings, as they were a bit preoccupied.

 _You can't be serious. I don't believe it,_ Mordred grinned.

Merlin smirked in response. _Believe it. Guinevere was a bumbling and awkward daughter of a blacksmith when I first met her._

 _I knew she wasn't a noble, but she's so confident now,_ Mordred protested. _I can't even imagine her tripping over her words._

 _You don't have to imagine,_ Merlin thought innocently. When Mordred turned towards him curiously, Merlin grinned mischievously and sent his first memory of Gwen- when he was in the stocks and she was being adorably awkward. 

Mordred let out surprised laughter. _You really weren't exaggerating, Emrys. Actually, it even seems like she liked you quite a bit._

Merlin frowned a little at the name. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with the Druids name for him, because it reminded him of the big weight of his destiny. However, he didn't say anything, because that was how Mordred knew him, and Merlin really didn't want to put any more snags in their friendship. So Merlin decided to grin and bear it, and replied to Mordred, _Yes, it rather seemed that way, didn't it? Too bad she had to settle for that lousy king of ours._

Mordred laughed out loud again, and Merlin felt comfort at the ease of the conversation. He had thought it would be more strained because of all the truths that had spilled out over the last few days, however it seemed that it was easier now, because he had nothing to hide.

He hid things from everyone else, even from Gauis sometimes, because Merlin knows Gauis wouldn't approve of half the things he did. But now, he had someone to talk to, who he could even talk to about magic, and would understand his plight of keeping secrets from all of his friends.

Just as Merlin was thinking this, one such friend came sauntering over. "Oi! Merlin! Mordred! What're you two up to?" Gwaine said, coming over to swing his arms onto the shoulders of the two other men.

Before then, Merlin hadn't thought too much of mind-talking with Mordred. They had just slipped into it naturally, because they could. Now that Merlin didn't think of Mordred as a threat, he felt a little better about letting the younger man inside his head. But he hadn't realised how odd it might seem to an outsider, as they made different expressions and laughed at nothing.

Merlin lightheartedly said, "To be honest, I'm trying to avoid work," but really he wanted to wince, given his previous thought of hiding things from friends. Hiding things from Arthur was rough, but he had real reasons for that. Hiding things from Gwaine was a bit harder, because he was simply scared of how he would react. It was an irrational fear, because Gwaine was loyal over everything to Merlin, but Merlin couldn't tell him it before, and at this point it seemed to late.

But Gwaine was still his friend, so he tried to keep up appearances, continuing his earlier words with a jab at Arthur. "Arthur gave me the day off, but in case he changes his mind, I don't wanna be in sight."

Gwaine nodded solemnly. "Out of sight, out of mind," he recited wisely, before grinning widely at Merlin. He then turned to Mordred, "I hope you're not trying to ditch work too though, cause it's your shift for guard duty."

Mordred eyes widened, obviously having forgotten this after the day's events. "Oh, I hope I'm not late," he muttered, turning to leave.

Gwaine laughs. "Oh you're already late, Leon sent me to find you. But if you run now, you might not be too late." 

Mordred gave Gwaine a panicked look and hurried away. Being a new knight, he didn't want to make a bad impression. "Thank you for telling me, Gwaine, and good-bye Merlin." Mordred hesitated slightly on Merlin's name, but he at least called him the right name, so Merlin wasn't too worried.

He would have been more worried if he had seen the curious gaze that Gwaine through at Merlin.

 _Good Luck, Mordred,_ he mind-said.

 _Thank you, Emrys,_ came the reply. _I shall need it if Leon's there waiting for me._

Merlin tried not to laugh at that, Leon was a force to be reckoned with when it came to rule-following. He turned towards Gwaine, and finally noticed that he was studying Merlin intently. 

"Er..." Merlin started, because no one could say that he lacked grace. He tried for a lighthearted, "Did you want to go to the tavern, Gwaine?" They were still in the middle of the marketplace, and the Rising Sun was just around the corner.

Merlin could see that Gwaine was trying not to smile at that. He shrugged nonchalantly. "If you want. But we do need to talk."

Merlin sucked in a breath. He glanced around, seeing all the people rushing around, doing errands and shopping throughout the stalls. It didn't seem like anyone was paying any attention to the two people who were stationary.

"Um. Do we? Need to talk? That's funny. I hadn't realised. Is there a specific thing we need to talk about, or is it just in genera-"

Gwaine waited patiently throughout most of Merlin's ramblings, but eventually he interrupted to say, "You know you can tell me anything, right Merlin?"

Merlin sort of expected this, but at the same time he was unprepared for the seriousness. "Er, yeah, course I know that. You're my friend, Gwaine."

Gwaine regarded Merlin intently again. Merlin fidgeted, uncomfortable with the scrutiny. This seemed to be what Gwaine was waiting for. "Then why didn't you tell me about poisoning Morgana?" He said, calling Merlin out.

"Look Gwaine, I didn't- I mean, it was a long time ago, and I didn't mean to keep it from you, I just-"

Gwaine cut Merlin off with a snort, smiling humorously. "Course you didn't. You never do, do ya? Just how many secrets do you keep, Merlin?"

Merlin stared wide-eyed at Gwaine, frightened. He tried to respond, "I don't- I mean not really- doesn't everyon-." But just then, an old woman dressed in black bumped against him. He looked over to see a nasty grin and familiar eyes that he couldn't seem to place. She studied him intently, and gave a quick, "Sorry, deary," while not looking sorry in the least. She walked off, with a skip in her step.

But Merlin wasn't going to worry about nasty old ladies right now. He had the big picture to worry about instead.

Why did it seem as if all of his lies were starting to fall apart? Even the normally happy-go-lucky Gwaine was acting serious.

Maybe he was dreaming. That seemed more plausible than a serious Gwaine. He attempted to inconspicuously pinch himself. If this was dream, he certainly didn't want to see the fallout of all his secrets being spilled. "Ow!" he said when it hurt. Not a dream then.

Gwaine was watching him, amused. "C'mon, Merls, let's walk," he said, gesturing down the path that Mordred and Merlin had been walking earlier. Perhaps that was why the old women was so rude, they had been standing in the middle of the path, blocking the way.

They walked in silence for a little, simply observing the lower village of Camelot. The people went about their business in the market square, mothers hurrying their kids to the food stalls, women picking up fabric and jewellery. There was even a little kid trying to steal a toy from a stall.

Merlin and Gwaine watched the last in amusement for a while. The boy would dart up to the counter and reach for the toy, but then back off as soon as the vendor turned his head ever so slightly. 

Eventually, Gwaine took pity on the kid and nicked the wooden animal he'd been eyeing. He handed it to the kid with an exaggerated wink, and ruffled the boys hair. The kid gave him a shocked look, perhaps because Gwaine was wearing his knight uniform, or maybe he had thought he was being to sneaky for anyone to see him. Either way, he scattered off after muttering a quick "Thanks, sir."

Merlin laughed at this, both Gwaine's thievery, and the boy calling Gwaine 'sir'. But then his eyes caught on the shopkeeper who was looking suspiciously at the spot where the wooden animal was previously. Sighing, he quietly put a few coins on the counter when the man was helping another customer.

He quickly led Gwaine away, before realising that Gwaine was looking at him with a big grin. Startled, he asked, "What? What is it?"

Gwaine shook his head in disbelief, grinning. "You're unbelievable" Merlin looked at Gwaine in confusion, but Gwaine just waved him off.

But then Gwaine looked up at Merlin and commented, "You know, when we first met, I liked you, cause you were really odd." Merlin startled at this unexpected statement. Gwaine laughed, and reassured, "Not in a bad way, actually quite the opposite. It's because you were just so... full of goodness!" Gwaine said, throwing his arms around for emphasis. "You always stood up for what you believed to be right, without expecting any reward. Most of the people I met either just wanted mead, money or sex. Though that could be because I mostly frequented taverns..."

When Merlin laughed, Gwaine grinned, but went into further detail, trying to make Merlin understand. He leaned closer to Merlin and lowered his voice, saying, "I mean, you know how I grew up a noble, right?" 

Merlin startled for a second. Indeed, he had forgotten that about Gwaine. He had learned it the first day he met Gwaine, but it was easy to forget, considering that Gwaine acted anything but like a Noble most of the time. But Merlin nodded in assent to Gwaine's question, so Gwaine went on, "Well I met plenty of Knights growing up, but you were the first person who truly showed me what it meant to be noble."

Merlin tried to protest this, saying, "But I'm just a manservan-"

"Exactly!" Gwaine cut off excitedly, like this was the answer to everything he'd ever wondered. "You're just a manservant. But you still stick with Arthur through everything. You go into situations so dangerous even some knights wouldn't go. And you do it all without a thought to your own wellbeing, only worrying about Arthur."

"Well that's because I don't have to worry about myself!" Merlin burst. He gave a slight intake of breath realising how close he was to talking about his magic. He could take care of himself fine, with his magic, but he had to look after Arthur, because that stubborn prat with a death wish had a bunch of enemies and yet still insisted on running into deathly situations. 

Merlin took a deep breath, and continued on to say calmly, "I can take care of myself, Gwaine. And I need to make sure Arthur is safe, that's why I follow him everywhere. That's all I can tell you, and that's all that you need to know."

Gwaine looked utterly unsatisfied with this. "Princess is pretty good with a sword. You don't even carry one. How are you supposed to take care of both yourself and him?"

Merlin knew this wasn't meant as an insult to him, but instead a concern for his well-being. So he said, "I don't need a sword. Please Gwaine-" but Merlin hesitated, seeing the old women in black from before. She wasn't looking their way, but rather intently studying a roll of expensive fabric. He only took note of her because they had walked in the opposite direction as she had gone earlier.

He would've thought more into it, but just then Gwaine said, "Merlin, please, you can trust me. You don't have to go through this alone."

"I'm not alone," Merlin replied without thinking. He winced, seeing the hurt expression flash on Gwaine's face before flickering away. Merlin realised he was one of Gwaine's closest friends, and he had just admitted he told someone else his hidden secrets. He had only meant Mordred, who had always been aware of Merlin's magic, but Gwaine didn't know that.

Gwaine took a deep breath to steady himself. Obviously he was as bad as Merlin at discussing serious topics. "Just, know that you can always talk to me, and that I will always be here if you need help. Okay, Merlin?"

Merlin gave him a smile. "I already knew that Gwaine."

Gwaine returned Merlin's small smile with a big bright one. "Good. Now, you said something earlier about going to the tavern?" Gwaine hinted with a smirk.

Merlin let out a relieved laugh, glad he could have someone like Gwaine to rely on, despite all of the secrets he kept from the man. 

Though perhaps, it didn't have to be that way. It certainly wouldn't be if that way if the women in black had her way, she thought as she watched the two men depart, presumably to the tavern. 

With a wicked grin, the women in black walked off, past the gates of Camelot and into the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, it's been a while. But schools over, so I've got time as well as a renewed motivation to write creative stuff, so hopefully that'll equate to more updates for this. I have a pretty cool idea for this fic that I want to figure out, so I'll try working on that.
> 
> Okay, you can probably guess who the women in black is. I think I made it pretty obvious she meant bad business. Though, if you're confused by why she's old, just wait, cause it'll be explained in the beginning of the next chapter.
> 
> Okay, so I mean, I hope they're not too emotional and out of character? I'm trying to tone it down a bit, but it's hard to do so while also spilling all those secrets.
> 
> Also, sorry for any grammatical errors, I try to check them over, but I'm pretty bad at that.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! And if you want to tell me anything I could work on, or anything you want to see, that would be helpful.


	6. Druids and Thoughts and Pretty Maids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out who the old women in black is, while she cooks up some nefarious plans. Merlin's late, and he can't talk right, and Arthur's inviting _who_ to the castle?
> 
> And don't forget about the pretty maid.

In a small worn down shack in the woods around the city of Camelot, there lived a old woman dressed in black.

Well, she was always dressed in black, though she wasn't always an old woman. That was simply a disguise she wore, from a spell her dear sister had taught her. 

She had just arrived from a long journey. Once safely in the confines of her home, she muttered the counter-curse, "Vetus commuta finis." As if by magic, her visage changed. Gone were all the wrinkles, and instead she was left with smooth, pale skin. Her grayed hair grew healthier and darker, and so at once the old lady became a young woman.

The now young woman grabbed a shard of a mirror from a shelf and inspected her image. When she saw the Lady Morgana staring back at her, she smirked at herself. 

Satisfied, with her reflection, she set down the shard and approached a rickety bookshelf. She hummed as she scanned the titles, and then carefully selected the book labeled _Truth Spells and Other Truth-Telling Devices_. 

She sat down at her table to search through the book. She flicked through the intro warning of the harshness of truth, and then a few more of some spells that didn't seem to suit her needs. There was also a page on a rune that she passed, presumably because it would mean sneaking into the room of the person she was trying to curse to etch the rune onto their bed. She hesitated on a page that had directions to a potion that could only be fed to a person who was dying, but would extract truth even better than torture. She read it intently for a while, before flipping the page.

At the next page, she smiled. It appeared she had her truth spell. She read through the page carefully, before gathering some herbs from her stocks. 

She then stoked the fire to ensure it was going strong before tossing the herbs into the flames. Breathing in the scented fumes, she chanted clearly, "Verax confrontatio facere Merlin privabitur secreta eius."

She smiled satisfactorily as she felt some magic leave her, presumably to do something nefarious in the city of Camelot. This pleased Morgana greatly, and she said to herself, "Oh, I do wonder what secrets Merlin has buried. I hope he brings himself to tell dear old Arthur the truth," she smirked, knowing Merlin would have no choice in the matter when it came to telling the truth.

\----------------------------------------

At the same time, in the city of Camelot, a young man with dark hair and blue eyes woke with a start. He had been in the middle of an odd dream. Something to do with Gwaine standing on top of a table and singing at the top of his lungs to a crowd that was shouting at him. Whether or not they were shouting for an encore or for him to get off the table Merlin wasn't sure, for he had been too busy laughing. Actually, now that Merlin thought about it, that might have not been a dream. Merlin and Gwaine had stayed at the tavern for a long time. 

However, dream or not, it was not what waked him. Still in bed, Merlin frowned as he felt foreign magic mixing with his. He went to get up, maybe he could ask Gauis, or look through a book, but then he realised it was still pitch black outside. 

Groaning, he laid back down and pulled the blanket back over his head. The problem could be solved in the morning. For now, Merlin could maybe sleep for a few more hours, if he could just fall asle...

\--------------------------------------

"Merlin!" For the second time, Merlin startled awake. 

He grudgingly open his eyes to see an irate Gauis standing in the doorway to his bedroom. He let out a sleepy, "Gauis? What'd'ya want?"

Gauis gave him a disapproving glare, saying, "It is not what I want, but what the King has been yelling about all morning. You're late."

Merlin looked out the window to see that the sun had raised substantially. "Oh," he said.

Gauis raised an eyebrow. "What are you still doing in bed?"

"I'm tired. And I don't really wanna deal with a mad Arthur," he answered truthfully.

"If he's mad, it's your own fault. Now got out of bed and do your job."

Merlin groaned, but did as Gauis said and got out of bed. As he passed by the older man on his way out of his room, Gauis asked, "Honestly Merlin, why does it seem as if you are never on time to your job."

Merlin shrugs nonchalantly. "I do try to, but it's hard to wake myself up early when I always go to bed late and exhausted from all of my duties, on top of the weight from my destiny."

Gauis blinked at this admittance. Merlin blinked back at him. He hadn't meant to say that. He had meant to exaggeratedly complain about all the duties that Arthur gave him, but instead he had simply spoken factual and realistically.

"Uh," Merlin said. He must be truly tired if he went off spouting his real feelings. He normally tried to keep his real hardships hidden. Perhaps he should make a joke now, as well as an excuse to leave. Something about how whenever Arthur tries to dress himself it turns out dangerous to anyone within the vicinity. "I should go to Arthur now, before he tries to dress himself because it always makes me feel a little useless when I see he is capable without me," Merlin said instead." 

He blinked again. Gauis frowned again. Merlin let out a little nervous laughter and walked quickly out the door. He was more out of it then he thought. 

\----------------------------------------

Merlin stopped by the kitchen first, to pick up the king's breakfast. He quickly grabbed a mishmash of everything for the king, as well as some bread and cheese for himself. After his odd conversation with Gauis he had forgotten to get breakfast for himself. 

Before he was able to escape the confines of the kitchen, Cook put out a hand to stop him. "Is that all for the king?" she asked suspiciously. 

"Well, no," Merlin said, without thinking. Then he wanted to hit himself over the head. "Well I mean, most of it is. I just couldn't help myself, I'm starving, and your rolls are the best. 

Cook still had narrowed eyes at the theft, but seemed mollified by his compliment of her cooking. And it was true, the only rolls Merlin liked more than Cook's rolls were his mother's, and that was probably partially due to the emotional connect between the food and the person.

"The only rolls I like more than yours are my mother's, though that is less about the actual rolls and more the fact that they are made by my mother."

Merlin blinked. Huh. But cook seemed slightly startled, they had never talked much except for her to reprimand him and him to beg for some food. Cook then let out a rare grin, and commented, "You know, you really are a good boy Merlin. And a hard worker. If you're ever hungry again while in a rush, feel free to come here for something. I'll try and make some rolls more often."

Merlin blinked again. Truthfully, he had always been scared of Cook. But it appeared she had a heart of gold under her large outer countenance. "You're not as scary as I always thought," Merlin told her, then skedaddled before she could refute his new free reign within the kitchen.

Merlin, now laden down with Arthur's breakfast, continued on to the royal chambers. Halfway there, he happened across two maids holding a hushed conversation. He didn't mean to listen, but he couldn't help overhear,

"Honestly Heidi, you look fine. It looks great on you." The older maid with blond hair comforted. 

The younger maid had dark brown hair, and was wearing what appeared to be a new dress that was quite big for her. She looked like she didn't believe the older woman. "You think so?" She asked hesitantly, looking down at herself."I'm not sure."

Merlin, correctly interpreting the situation, immediately went to assure the younger woman that she looked very nice. He said, "Don't worry, that dress makes you look fat."

Both of the woman slowly turned to look at him. With a shock, Merlin realised what he had just said. His eyes widened as he though of a way out of the situation without hurting the maid's feelings any more. "Well, at least it's the dress that makes you look fat, and not yourself," he tried. He winced as he saw the cold fury that overtook the younger maid's face. That was not better in the least. 

Merlin wondered how he got into this situation as the maid stalked toward him with narrowed eyes.

\------------------------------------------

"What on earth happened to your face," Arthur asked with less concern and more amusement than Merlin would like. "Is that a _handprint?_ Did someone slap you?" Arthur asked, the amusement now ringing clearly in his voice.

After the incident with the maids, where Merlin had somehow miraculously been able to keep the platter of Arthur's breakfast aloft, (Though he had dropped the roll he had grabbed for himself, Merlin couldn't decide if it was karma or just unfair) Merlin had continued on to the king and queen's chambers to find that some maid's had already brought food up for the royals, because Merlin had been so late. Arthur and Guinevere were sitting down eating their breakfast, while Merlin stood, awkwardly holding the unneeded platter.

He set the platter down on the table anyway. Merlin would have been more upset about someone taking his duties, but he found he wasn't too put off as he grabbed one of the sausages he had brought for Arthur. He then went around to straighten up the bed, though it appeared the maid had already taken care of that as well. Ah well.

Already having food also meant that Arthur wasn't starving and therefore grumpy, which could be part of the reason he was making fun of Merlin rather than yelling at him for being an awful manservant.

Gwen spoke up in reply to Arthur's teasings. She admonished, "Arthur! I'm sure it was simply some misunderstanding, right Merlin?"

Merlin winced, wishing he could agree with her. "Not really," he muttered, as he puffed up one of Arthur's pillows.

Arthur snickered. "Was your girlfriend really annoyed with you for being late to all your dates?" Arthur asked, fake-sympathetically, before taking a big bite of some bread.

Merlin Winced slightly before giving an embarrassed grin. Apparently Arthur still remembered how late Merlin was today. He was going to respond about how it was really that his 'girlfriend' didn't like that he was still working for such a prat that overworked him. He said, "It was one of the maids. I said she looked fat in her dress."

Gwen gasped, and brought her hand to cover her mouth. "Oh Merlin!" she cried, looking shocked. "You didn't!"

"Er," Merlin said. He had, but he hadn't meant to say so. He could play it off as a joke though. "Well yes." Merlin winced. This was not a good time for his words to not be matching with his thoughts. Seeing the queen's disapproving face and the king's amused face, Merlin hastened to continue, "Not purposely! I didn't mean to say that, it just kinda happened? I mean-"

"Alright Merlin, that's enough. I have more important things to do today than listen to you ramble on about maids," Arthur said, raising up from the table.

At the same time, the queen hit him on the arm for being rude and Merlin scoffed. "Like what?" he asked.

Arthur gave Gwen an indignant look before responding to Merlin. "Well, I am the King, I'm sure I can find plenty of duties to keep myself occupied. Not to mention that I have the guest to prepare for tomorrow.

Merlin gave a blank look. He couldn't recall anything about any guests coming to Camelot. Arthur gave a long-suffering sigh. "Have you forgotten already?"

"Can't forget what you never knew," Merlin quipped back, moving to the other side of the bed and picked up one of Gwen's pillows. Gwen laughed, while Arthur just rolled his eyes.

"Well now you do. I'm meeting with the other Druid leader of a nearby clan to discuss a peace treaty, and a few of the other Druids will be coming as well." Merlin dropped the pillow he had been fluffing with shock. Peace with people who were known for magic? Had Arthur opened his mind on his stance of magic? But just the other day, with the Disir, Arthur had been content with Merlin's decision that magic had no place in Camelot.

Merlin didn't want to get his hopes up, but it was hard not to. A peace treaty with the Druids! His magic rejoiced just at the thought of many other magic practitioners being Camelot. Moreover, being _allowed_ to be in Camelot.

Arthur hadn't noticed, for he had moved over to his wardrobe. Merlin glanced quickly at Gwen. She was still sitting at the table, watching Merlin with a curious expression.

Merlin looked down. He saw the pillow he had dropped, and bent to pick it up, asking, "Ah?" His voice croaked. He coughed to clear his throat before continuing "Is that so?"

Arthur turned around. "Indeed," he said, studying Merlin. "That isn't a problem, is it?"

"No!" Merlin denied quickly and vehemently. Seeing both Arthur and Gwen raise an eyebrow at the denial, Merlin shook his head and tried to continue casually, while fluffing Gwen's pillow. "No, it's completely fine. Great even. May I ask what brought that idea about?"

Gwen turned to look at Arthur, obviously also highly anticipating his answer. Arthur nodded in assent to Merlin's question and said, "Well, it's not much, but I figure it's time to stop hostilities against a peaceful people. It might also open up the market a little, if we allow a different kind of people access to it."

Gwen gave her husband a broad smile, while Merlin blinked at the logic. "That... makes sense," he admitted, hesitantly. Merlin was a little disheartened to tell the truth. He had been hoping Arthur's acceptance of the Druids would have more to do with the idea of magic as not evil, but it seemed almost political.

"Well, we'll figure out the particulars at the meeting tomorrow," Arthur shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. "For now," Arthur continued, giving a wide smile that turned into more of a smirk. "My laundry needs cleaning, my armor polishing, and I have training in an hour, I expect you to be there with my armor polished nicely, not halfway like you normally do."

Merlin sighed, before putting Gwen's pillow back on the bed and plastering a pleased smile on his face. "Will that be all, or do you wish to give me another time-consuming task just for the sake of it?"

Gwen rolled her eyes while Arthur responded with a grin, "Well, now that you mention..."

Merlin's eyes widened, worried that Arthur would actually add on something else. He hastilily grabbed the basket of forty laundry and to give a 'well if that's all', but instead said, "I don't want to stay here in case you give me more chores to do, so I'm going to go now."

Merlin winced. He was getting really annoyed at the fact that his words were coming out different than his thoughts. He gave a quick grin goodbye to Gwen, who nodded and smiled regally at him, before winking. Merlin then rushed out the door.

After assuring that the door was closed, and he was alone in the corridor, Merlin sank down against the wall next to the door.

His thoughts were all over the place and he had a lot to think through. First, there was the fact that Arthur was making peace with Druids.

This was so unexpected Merlin could hardly comprehend it. Perhaps his words had less effect on Arthur than he had though, which was at the same time disheartening and relieving. 

Perhaps Arthur did not believe as Merlin had said that 'magic had no place in Camelot,' for he was talking of letting Druids into the inner town. 

However, Merlin was not aware to the extent which magic would be accepted. Would Arthur prohibit Druids from using magic while inside Camelot? If they were allowed, that wouldn't be fair to the townspeople, so would Arthur go as fair as to review the law that prohibited all magic in Camelot?

But that thought led to too many other floodgates and thoughts, so Merlin forcibly pushed his thoughts in another direction. Arthur had spoken about the marketplace. Would Arthur allow Druids to trade magical items within Camelot? But then, again, it seemed contradictory to allow them to trade if they weren't allowed to use the items.

It seemed to Merlin that whatever Arthur did, it wouldn't be as small and uncomplicated as Arthur thought. Merlin worried whether Arthur was truly ready for this, and knew what this one thing would entail, or lead to.

At the same time though, this made Merlin feel exhilarated. Druids in Camelot! Taking this small first step could lead to magic in Camelot! Perhaps Merlin's destiny was not as far-fetched as it always seemed. As long as from now on, Merlin gives Arthur a nudge in the right direction, perhaps...

But then, Merlin shouldn't get ahead of himself. At this point, at least to Arthur, it was simply a peace treaty with peaceful people, and nothing more.

Furthermore, Merlin had other issues to deal with. For example, his very pressing speaking problem. Merlin had often been told he spoke without thinking first, but this was getting ridiculous. Merlin hadn't been able to say anything properly since this morning. It was like it was edited as it left his mouth, but edited for what? Merlin wasn't sure. Maybe-

"Hello? Um, Merlin isn't it?" 

Merlin startled at the female voice. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he forgot he had been sitting in a very public corridor next to a basket of still-dirty laundry that he was meant to clean. Absently, he wondered how much time he had lost, for he definitely had less than an hour now until he had to have everything finished for the knight's training.

Presently, he gazed up at the pretty face of the blond maid, the friend of the one who he had insulted. He hadn't thought much of it before, but he had seen her around the castle before, and he knew a number of servants who were quite smitten with the beautiful blond maid. 

However, he was mildly wary, for the other maid had made his cheek really sting, but the pretty maid just seemed uncomfortable, not angry.

Suddenly, he realized her feeling probably had to due with the fact that he was sitting on the floor staring absently at the opposite wall. He jumped up to his feet and faced her. "Uh, yeah, I'm Merlin. And you're Marie, aren't you?"

She beamed at him and replied, "Yeah, that's me. From before, when you..."

When she trailed off, Merlin hurried to cut her off, "Yes, yes I remember. Is there something you wanted?"

"Well, I just wanted to say," Marie said. "thank you." Merlin blinked, not expecting that. Marie giggled slightly at his face. "Well it's just that Heidi had been bugging me all morning about her dress, asking for my honest opinion, and I wanted to say something, but I didn't want to sound..."

"Rude?" Merlin finished for her, smiling wryly.

Marie flushed. "Er, yes. But I mean, you were just being honest, and I can respect that. If there's anything I can do for you..." her eyes zeroed in on the basket of dirty laundry. Her eyes lit, excited. "I can do the laundry for you!"

Merlin usually didn't like delegating his tasks to other castle servants, not wanting to make anyone else do more work than needed, but in this case, he had little time, so he might as well. Merlin said honestly, "Uh, yeah, that would be nice. I still have to polish Arthur's armor before training, and I didn't really want to do the laundry in the first place."

Merlin winced. He really had to figure out what was going on with his spoken words. But Marie just smiled, and replied, "Well don't worry, because I like to do laundry, and plus, I'm good with it. Would you like me to just bring it back up to the royal chambers when it's done?" She asked this while picking up the basket. 

"Yeah, that would be nice, thanks."

"No problem," said Marie smiling. She walked away, now laden down with the laundry.

Merlin stood, still nearby the door to the royal chambers. He figured he should probably leave quickly before Arthur came out to see he hadn't gotten anything done yet.

And so Merlin headed down to the armor room. Forgotten were his deep thoughts on peace treaties and his difficulties talking. Instead, Merlin couldn't help thinking about the way Marie's eyes twinkled in the torchlight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! Truth be told I hadn't planned on these scenes being so long. I had a lot more I thought I could fit into this chapter, but it's already so long I figured I'd space it out to give a quicker update.
> 
> So wow, treaty with the Druids? I did not see that coming. Sorry there's no Mordred in this chapter. If I wanted to get to that point I'd have to make it doubly long. This just kinda sets the foundation of something's up with Merlin. It also shows how he interacts with people around the castle. I don't know if Marie will come back. She wasn't meant to be a character at all, but if you liked her, I could probably fit her in somewhere.
> 
> And although I had a lot of fun with all the truthfully's and honestly's, Merlin doesn't seem to know what's up yet, which means you don't yet know the full extent of it. Merlin's a bit preoccupied, there's a lot going on, and he doesn't seem to think that his speaking problem is too important.
> 
> Question, should I make this into a reveal fic? I could easily do it, what with the truth spell and Arthur's possibly changing views, but I'm not sure.
> 
> So, tell me what you think, love it, hate it, or if there's anything that's lacking or needs work.
> 
> Also, if you have any ideas that'd you'd like to see play out, I'll see if I can swing it. I have a few things planned out right now, but I'm always open to suggestions. Any comments or kudos are always greatly appreciated.
> 
> I think that's it. Thanks for reading!


	7. Can't Seem to Catch a Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mordred thinks Merlin deserves more, wait does Gwaine know? Nah probably not. What about Guinevere though? And Merlin admits a bit too much, but still somehow manages to hide the most important bits.  
> Arthur wants Mordred to be what?

Merlin made his way into the armor room. He was feeling a bit out of it, to be honest. So much was going on, he wasn't sure what to focus on. So he believed he should be excused for losing himself in his work.

He polished all Arthur's armor methodically and intently, and let his mind rest. Needless to say, he was a bit startled when he heard a voice coming from inside his head

_What are you doing Emrys?_

Startled, Merlin dropped the helmet he had been working on. He glanced back to see Mordred standing behind him, looking slightly bemused. Merlin just gives a slight glare, before turning to pick the helmet off the ground, groaning when he sees all of the dirt on it. And he had been almost finished with it too.

He started to dust the helmet off, not even turning to say, "Did you have a reason to come in here or was it just to disrupt me from my work?"

If Merlin had turned back, he wouldn't have seen the slightly uncomfortable look on Mordred's face. Instead he just heard, "Emrys..."

Now Merlin did turn, to give Mordred a sharp look. Mordred immediately realized his mistake and quickly continued in mind-speak, _Sorry, I didn't mean to say your name out loud._

Merlin frowned. That had been a worry of his. That he and Mordred would get so comfortable talking inside their minds that they would accidentally let something slip out loud. But he still nodded his head to accept the apology. He should probably address the issue, but there were more important things to be done. Like make sure the armor was done soon, because training was about to start.

And so Mordred continued while Merlin was furiously scrubbing Arthur's helmet. _Emrys, what are you doing?_ Mordred said, almost in a sigh.

Merlin gave him a curious look.  _Exactly what it looks like, polishing Arthur's armor before his training with the knights. One of which is you._ Merlin stops for a second here to look Mordred over to ascertain that no, he isn't wearing his armor yet. Merlin continues, _You should probably start getting ready for that. Arthur isn't fond of lateness. Unless he's the late one, then it's fine._ Merlin grins, always happy to poke fun at his king.

But Mordred just sighs, and makes no move to grab his stuff off the shelf. Instead, he says, _No, I mean why are here, polishing armor the old-fashioned way?_

Merlin's grin falters. He had used magic to do his chores a number of times, but only when he didn't have the time or patience to do it regularly. Besides, after being caught by Gauis a few times, he realized he had to be a bit more careful. Instead of relaying that sentiment however, Merlin just jokes, _Well, Arthur told me to polish his armor, so here I am._

But again, Mordred just sighs, frustrated. _That's not what I mean and you know it. It's just, you're_ Emrys. 

Mordred says the name with great importance, as if Merlin doesn't know, doesn't carry the weight of that name every day. Merlin glances around cautiously, forgetting for a moment that they're not speaking out long. _Yeah, I know that. So what?_

Mordred looks almost taken aback at that comment. _So what? So you shouldn't be wasting your time acting as a useless manservant._

Merlin pretends to be offended. To tell the truth, he knows what Mordred is getting at, but he really doesn't want to go there now. So he does what he does best and makes a joke, _I'll have you know I'm a very useful manservant. Arthur would be lost without me._

But Mordred persists, _Exactly! Without you, Arthur would be lost. Dead, in fact. How many times have you saved the king's life? The kingdom even?_

Merlin sucked in a breath. Truthfully, Merlin had lost count. And he had actually counted in the beginning, thinking maybe if Arthur ever found out, he could let the prat know just how useful Merlin really was. But then, Arthur never found out, and saving him just became a reaction, so he stopped counting. But Merlin wasn't about to let Mordred know that, and he didn't know what else to say, so he just stayed silent, staring hard at Mordred, who was looking right back at him. 

Finally, Mordred conceded, and continued, _You're worth more than this Emrys. You deserve more than this. If Arthur knew the power you hold-_

And maybe it was the fact that those words were so similar to something Lancelot once said, someone who had faith in Merlin, and died because of it, but Merlin snapped. "You know nothing about Arthur then. What, you think I'd be knighted for this? And for lying to him about it for all these years? What, you think he'd forgive all that cause I'm powerful? You're wrong. I wouldn't be knighted, I'd be _executed_ ," Merlin stressed. He saw Mordred looked like he wanted to argue, so Merlin added lowly, "The King can never know about this." 

"Know about what?" 

Wide-eyed, both Merlin and Mordred turned towards the new voice, only to see Gwaine there, leaning casually against the wall, looking highly amused. 

Better than angry, Merlin thought to himself, as he tried to recall how much of the conversation was said out loud. To his horror, he couldn't quite remember, which meant he probably said a few incriminating things. He just hoped he didn't mention the m-word. 

When it had been silent for a bit to long, Merlin "Gwaine! I hadn't realized you were here!" 

Gwaine was still looking amused. "I noticed," he said. 

Merlin sucked in a breath, and tried to come up with a reasonable excuse for what he wouldn't want Arthur to know, like that Merlin had let one of the maids do laundry for him. "Oh, yeah um, me and Mordred were just talking about uh, my magic!" Merlin grinned, happy with his excuse. Then he saw Mordred looking at him in horror, and his grin quickly faded as he realized what he had just done. What a time to be truthful. 

Gwaine, for his part, just laughed and, shoving off the wall, went to grabbed his own armor. "Is that so? What, your magical cleaning abilities?" He said sarcastically as Merlin and Mordred were cautiously and confusedly watching him pull his armor on. 

"Uh," Merlin responded eloquently. Then in his head he spoke to Mordred, _Please say something and quick or else I'll just make the situation even worse. Quickly._

Mordred gave Merlin an incredulous look, but nonetheless said to Gwaine in a deadpan, "Yes it's true, his armor-polishing skills are enviable. Arthur truly is very lucky to have such a magnificent manservant." 

"Oh, am I now?" 

Three sets of eyes flashed towards the entrance to see King Arthur entering the armor room, quickly followed by some of the other knights. Merlin again had to think back to ensure nothing incriminating had been said. He was getting so used to being comfortable with his magic while talking with Mordred that it was beginning to get difficult to remember not to speak about in front of company.

Speaking of company, Arthur continued his vocal abuse of Merlin. "One would think having a magnificent servent would mean having their armor polished in a timely fashion and yet, here I am." Arthur gestures to Merlin, who was still working furiously on the soiled helmet.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Oh don't be so dramatic. I'm nearly finished with this, and it's the last piece. You can start getting ready without it."

Arthur looked at Merlin with something akin to a pout and said in an offended tone, "I am not being _dramatic._

All of the Knights in the room snickered at the irony of the King dramatically claiming not to be dramatic, but Arthur silenced them all with a glare across the entire armor room. He looked satisfied as his gaze shifted back to Merlin.

Merlin just shrugged. "Yeah you are." If Merlin had been looking up instead of at Arthur's helmet, he would have saw that Arthur looked ready to start a war, but he wasn't, so he just continued nonchalantly, "But don't worry, it's endearing. One of your redeeming qualities definitely. Not that you need redeeming, you're already an exceptional king, let alone person."

All the knights who had just started going back to doing their own stuff stopped to contemplate the words that Merlin had just said without thinking.

Merlin, noticing the instant pause in activity quickly glanced up to find everyone's gaze on him. It finally hit him what he had said, he eyes widened and he looked back down to the helmet. By this point, it was beyond polished but he continued furiously scrubbing.

Arthur, in shock until this point, managed to get out, "Did you say...endearing?"

Merlin continued on his mission of rubbing the helmet into nothingness as he replied "Did I? I meant to say annoying." Because he _had_ , but the rest just came tumbling out like projectile vomit about how he truly regarded Arthur. He really had to get out of her to figure out what was wrong with him.

But Arthur seemed pretty happy with the results of it. He assumed an arrogant swagger only he could pull of while also putting on armor, "Oh yeah? What about the rest of it? I believe you said something about me being exceptional...?"

Merlin made a sound of disagreement while still working hard on the helmet. The knights were starting to trickle out to the field as they finished dressing. Merlin said, "That doesn't really sound like something I would say, does it?" And mentally congratulated himself on going around his weird speech impediment. It seemed that questions weren't considered true or false. He continued, "And shouldn't you be getting outside soon? The knights do need their leader after all."

Merlin then took a second to realize that that must be true, or else he must truly believe it. He still wasn't sure how this thing worked yet. Oh, maybe while Arthur was training the nights Merlin could look through some of Gauis's books to find stuff on speech restriction. Vocal blockage? Maybe he should look for truth sp-

"Oh, don't think you're getting off that easy." 

What, Merlin thought as he was pulled from his thoughts. "What?" He said, before groaning. This was getting ridiculous. 

Arthur ignored the internal dilemma Merlin was having mostly because he didn't realize he was having one. Instead he said, "While me and the knights are out training, I want you to set the rooms up for the druids that are coming tomorrow."

Wait, what? "Wait what?" Merlin asked. "How long are they staying for? I didn't realize they were staying at all."

Arthur rolled his eyes."Of course they're staying. It's common courtesy to extend an offer to stay for as long as the agreement takes to set up."

Merlin knew this of course, but it still felt weird to be extending this courtesy to the druids. They hardly knew these people, and they had power, they could hurt Arthur.

Merlin felt bad or even thinking like that, but he couldn't help it. Most of the people who tried to take Arthur's life were magic. Could anyone blame him for being wary of strangers with magic? Yeah probably, but that doesn't change the fact that these people who know of Merlin's magic and could do their own magic and-

Ugh Merlin really shouldn't be this worried about magic people coming for a peace treaty. This was it, this was his destiny, what reason did he have to worry? 

Well he actually had a lot of reasons but that's not the point.

"Okay, yeah, I'm not sure how much I really want them to stay here, but I'll get right on it anyway so I can pretend that it's alright." He said, in response to Arthur's earlier request.

But as he was dragging himself out of his thoughts he saw all of the knights were already filing out of the door to practice. It seemed the only person who heard that was Mordred, who gave a slightly hurt and confused look before shuffling off with the rest of the knights.

Merlin let out a deep sigh. He hoped Arthur wouldn't mind terribly if he delegated his task. He had some reading to do on truth spells.

________________________________________

Of course, Merlin should have know been it wasn't that easy. He had successfully found some other workers to make up the rooms for the druids. He managed this by telling them it was the king's orders, but of course, neglected to mention who the king had ordered to do it. Once that was all settled, he retired back to Gauis's chambers, to hopefully figure out what was wrong with him. As soon as he arrived though, Gauis called out to him, "Oh good, you're back now? Could you help me bring patients their medicine?" And there went the rest of his afternoon.

Merlin sighed, then put on a big cheery face, "Of course! Where should I start?"

\-------------------------------

When Merlin was in the middle of his medicine runs, he bumped into Gwen. Figuratively anyway. 

"Ah Merlin! It's nice to see you here. Are you running errands for Gauis? Here, let me help you," she said, reaching for some of the medicines that Merlin was carrying.

Merlin deftly moved them out of her reach. "That's not necessary _Queen_ Guinevere." Merlin replied.

Gwen just gave him a look and reached across him to help carry medicine anyway. Merlin laughed a bit, and continued on his way, with Guinevere walking at his side.

"So Merlin," Gwen started, "How have you been? I feel like we haven't hung out much recently."

Merlin replied good-naturally, "Yeah I feel that way too. It's probably because you're a queen and I'm a manservant, so we both have busy lives, but unlike before our duties hardly every align."

"Oh Merlin," Gwen said in a sad tone.

"Oh! No I didn't mean that in a bad way! It's completely fine, I was just," Merlin floundered for words, "stating... the... facts." Which yeah, he definitely had to look into that problem.

Gwen gave him a doubtful look, but let the matter slide. "Well Merlin, I just wanted to let you know, no matter how different our stations are now, I'll always be your friend before your queen."

Merlin gave her goofy grin, "Well yeah, I already knew that." But inside, he's feeling like there's a deeper meaning to this conversation. Gwen had always been rather perceptive, and Merlin had been slipping up lately. Was it possible she had figured something out?

Guinevere, unaware of Merlin's deep thoughts, lets out a light laugh before continuing, "I'm glad. I also hope that you know that you can talk to me about anything." She gives him a very pointed look while saying this.

Maybe she knows about his magic? No she couldn't, she would have told someone. Maybe there was something else she knew... Or maybe he was over-analyzing... Or maybe....he wasn't?  
Honestly, Merlin had no clue. Ah well. Better not let her know that he may or may not know that she may or may not know something.

So he smiled at her and replied, "Thank you, Gwen. That means a lot." And it did. Despite his hot and cold suspicions, he was glad that he had someone as caring as Guinevere for a friend, who would be there for him, and listen to him when he needed it.

Gwen gave him a smile back, and they continued on their way delivering medicines, and speaking about much more lighthearted things.

\--------------------------------

By the time Merlin finished running around the lower towns with Gwen, the knights practice was over, which of course meant that Merlin was back on the clock as Arthur's manservant.

"Sire? I've got dinner for you," Merlin said, letting himself into the king's chambers.

"Ah, good. Thank you Merlin," Arthur replied pleasantly, which immediately alerted Merlin that something was wrong. Since when was Arthur pleasant? Or thanked him for that matter.

Merlin set the platter down on the table, then eyed Arthur suspiciously. "Are you alright Arthur?" he asked.

Arthur gave him a big grin, "Yes, I'm quite alright, thanks for asking," he said. "By the way, you did make up the rooms for the druids tomorrow, correct?"

"Well, technically, I got some other servants to do it for me, but it is done, yes." Merlin winced at his own words, not meaning to let Arthur know how he had skived off on hi duties

But Arthur maintained his grin, and the only reaction Arthur gave to the news was a slight twitch of the eye. Now Merlin was completely sure something was up. Was Arthur going to try and corner him on his views on magic? Arthur started to speak, "So. Merlin. I hear you're getting friendly with one of my knights."

Huh? "Huh?" Merlin said, because he didn't know what else to think. Was that really all Arthur wanted to talk about?

"Oh you don't have to act all modest, I've heard all about it," Arthur waved a hand to dismiss Merlin's poor contribution to the discussion. "I know you were wary about him at first, but you've finally befriended Mordred. Took him under your wing, if you will."

Merlin cautiously responds, "I guess so, yeah. Why?"

"Well, I wanted to ask your opinion on something-

"Not that you'll listen," Merlin cuts off, because he knows that every time he offers his opinion to Arthur, he generally gets shut down or ignored.

"-I was thinking that perhaps, if all goes well with the peace treaty tomorrow," Arthur continued, ignoring Merlin. Just as Merlin suspected he would. "I might make Mordred a druid ambassador."

Well that certainly wasn't what Merlin was expecting. Would that be a good idea though? Mordred was a druid, and also a knight of Camelot, so he seemed like the perfect person to mediate between the two groups. But that would put a lot of power into his hands. If the other druids came and influenced Mordred, it could be possible for him to abuse the position-

Merlin shook hid head. No, Mordred wouldn't do that. Merlin had to give him more faith than that. Mordred was very levelheaded, and would probably be perfect for that position. However, it could turn out to be a dangerous position. If there were people who didn't appreciate the druids being allied with Camelot, or else the druids themselves, or radicals in the group at least, who didn't want to be paired up with Camelot, not after the devestation Uther's reign brought about.

Merlin turned back to Arthur, who was looking like he was trying very hard to hide his impatience. "Well?" Arthur asked. "What do you think?"

Merlin attempted to put his concerns into a valid argument. "Well, is a position such as that truly necessary? Don't you think the peace treaty is enough?"

Arthur responded, "I've thought it through, and I think it is very necessary. A peace treaty is the least I could do for a peaceful people. I want to do more than that." Arthur says this in a clear, no nonsense tone, that belays that he definitely had put lot of thought into it. He continues, "Not only will a druid ambassador be a show of good will to the druids, that we already have one of their kind in the court, but he will be in a position to speak up for them. After having to live in the shadows during my fathers reign, I think they deserve that."

Merlin let out a sigh, then gave Arthur grin. Arthur had really matured since Merlin had first met him. Merlin decided to take some of the credit for that, from all the times he had pushed Arthur down a few pegs. "Okay then. I think it sounds like a great idea," Merlin assured him.

Arthur seemed pleased with himself, "Really? You think so?" he asked. "Well it was my idea, so of course it was great. I can speak with Mordred about it tomorrow before the druids come." 

Merlin scoffed at the king's bragging. Maybe he should be careful how much he compliments the already-big-headed king. But then he has to ask, "But don't you think that it might be a dangerous position? People might not like the idea of it, and might take it out on Mordred." 

Arthur considered this. "Perhaps. I certainly understand where you're coming from. However, Mordred is one of my knights. I believe he can take care of himself. Honestly, I'm the king, and I barely have anyone trying to kill me. And if they do, I can always handle them myself."

Merlin felt like gouging his eyes out at how ignorant the king was of all the help Merlin provided him, but settled with muttering, "Oh, if only you knew," to himself

"What was that?" Arthur asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh nothing you want to hear, " Merlin said brightly, before cursing himself. He had meant to say nothing at all, but apparently his words were still being monitored. He really needed to figure out what was wrong with him.

 

Oh well. He could do that tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah there's not too much getting done here, but it sets up a lot. Mordred's feelings on Merlin's position as a manservant come to light. I mean he's the most powerful warlock ever and he's polishing armor. I don't think Mordred could shallow his pride enough to even let someone else shallow their pride that much.
> 
> But really, will Merlin finally figured out what's wrong with him? Yeah right. It seems every time he tries to get to the bottom of it, something else happens. Its almost like some force out there (me) doesn't want him to know yet? And wants to milk the Merlin-has-to-tell-the-truth card for all its worth? But idk
> 
> Next chapter: expect Merlin and Mordred to have a talk about their positions, and don't forget, the druids are coming! The only question, is that really a good thing?
> 
> (PS. Sorry for the late update :D I'm a terrible person. I don't have much written out for the next chapter, but I have few ideas and a vacation, so hopefully I can stomp that out soon.)
> 
> (PPS. Just so you know I changed the summary a bit and I even went through the older chapters and fixed them up a bit)


	8. The Druids have Arrived

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin has a heart to heart with Mordred, and then the druids finally come! Will it go as smoothly as no one thinks it will? Probably not.

Honestly, it's ridiculous how busy Camelot was the morning of the peace treaty with the druids. The lower town was abuzz with  the news that Camelot would be allowing druids within its borders. The men were loudly expressing their opinions on the matter, whether positive or negative. The women were giggling with friends, trying on clothes to look their best for the visitors. The children, who had yet to form their own opinions on the matter, were running around, pretending to be druids.

 

Inside the castle, however, the loudest noise that could be heard was the booming voice of the King calling out, "MERLIN!"

Merlin winced at the volume, even though he was still a few hallways over. He was carrying Arthur's breakfast, and dodging servants who were also running around the castle, desperately trying to finish last-minute setups for the visitors.

Merlin had overslept, after having trouble sleeping the night before. He couldn't help wondering how the meeting with the druids would go. He hoped Arthur was really prepared, and hadn't just decided this whole thing on a whim. There were going to be a lot of small things they would need to work through. Would the druids become part of Camelot? Would they be under King Arthur? Would they get offended if Arthur asked that of them?

There were so many possibilities for it to go wrong, Merlin's head hurt just thinking of them.

He entered Arthur's chambers, and hastened to set the breakfast down and the table and back away, so he wasn't within hitting length. However, Arthur didn't appear to be in a hitting mood. In fact, he didn't even acknowledge Merlin's entrance, which Merlin thought was a bit rude for someone who had been screaming at the top of his lungs a few moments ago. Merlin took in the room. It appeared that Guinevere was gone, presumably on her morning walk. The bed was unmade, and the laundry needed doing, but Merlin ignored that, hoping one of Gwen's maids would take care of that. 

Instead he approached the table again. Arthur was intensely studying the sheets in front of him, occasionly writing something down, or crossing something off, and muttering to himself all the while. After standing there for a few minutes, Merlin prodded, "Arthur?"

"Hm?" The king asked, looking up. When he saw Merlin, he scowled. "Ah Merlin. About time."

Merlin winced. Why had he thought rousing Arthur from his thoughts had been a good idea again? But he powered through, asking, "What are you working on there?"

Arthur glared at him. "What do you think? This peace treaty with the druids is an incredibly important meeting. Not only for the druids, but for Camelot. Its showing that under my reign, we are no longer magic fearing people. But if I say one wrong word then everyone will think I'm just like my father."

Arthur was clearly stressing out now that the event was so near. At least he understood the importance of it, and what it stood for. Merlin reassured him, "Don't worry Arthur, you're nothing like your tyrant father." Then winced, because, how had that tyrant slipped in there.

But Arthur just gave him another glare before sighing and turning back to his work.

Hm, maybe Merlin should just leave before he gets saddled with duties? But before that, "Hey Arthur."

Arthur stopped what he was doing and looked up at Merlin again. "What?" He spat out.

"Uh. Well, I was just wondering. I mean, since you're letting the druids in Camelot and all. And some of them have magic. Which you probably know. Does that mean- I mean, what exactly-

"Are you trying to ask me my personal views on magic?" Arthur asked, in an unimpressed tone.

Merlin gave the king a guilty luck. "Uh. Maybe?"

Arthur shook his head. "Honestly, the nerve of you. Especially considering I don't know your views," Arthur said, with a pointed look. Merlin looked away. Arthur sighed, then continued, "I suppose you'll find out at the meeting, just like everyone else."

Merlin felt rather disheartened at this response. He was hoping to have some idea of what was going to happen at the peace treaty, but now it seemed that he'd be going in blind- just like everyone else.

Arthur watched as Merlin's face fell, then turned back to his work and said without looking at Merlin. "Now go and leave me alone, I've got to finish this up."

Merlin watched as Arthur got back into his work for a moment before replying, "Yes, Sire," and then complying with The king's orders. At least he wasn't given any chores to do.

After Merlin left Arthur's chambers, he walked around aimlessly, deep in thought. What were Arthur's views on magic? Not all druids had magic, so maybe he would tolerate it, but not embrace it? Merlin didn't think he'd be so lucky that Arthur was completely supportive of magic. And, even if he was, it wouldn't be easy to put that idea into reality. He'd need to get the people on his side first, which would be hard after how long they endured Uther's rule, where magic was evil, plain and simple.

That meant that even if somehow, Arthur wanted to, he might not be able to make magic legal in Camelot. So then where would he draw the line? Would only druids be able to preform magic? No, that wouldn't be fair to the people. Does that mean he would forbid them from practicing magic? That seemed a pretty harsh reality.

Was there some middle ground where they could coexist? Would it be possible to-

_Emrys._

Merlin was startled out of his thoughts, and quickly looked around for who had called him that name within the castle walls. Then he realized that the name had only been inside his head, and so Merlin began to search for Mordred's presence in mind, rather than body.

_Mordred?_ He responded, once he found the young knights mind. _What is it?_

_I wish to speak to you, if you are able. Could you come to my quarters?_

Merlin sighed, glad that Mordred was far enough away that he couldn't see the tired face Merlin had on. However, it was true, they did need to talk, no matter how much Merlin wanted to delay it. _Yes, of course, I'll be there in a moment._

Merlin walked over to Mordred's chambers with a sense of trepidation. Would Mordred want to finish their discussion from yesterday? Or would he want to talk about the coming druids? Merlin wasn't sure, but he knew it wasn't going to be fun.

He entered Mordred's chambers, and carefully closed the door behind him, and if that was him stalling for time, well, he wasn't going to tell anyone.

He turned around to see Mordred sitting on his bed, staring, expressionless, at Merlin. Oh boy.

"Emrys." Mordred said, by way of greeting.

Merlin winced. "Yeah that's one of the things we should talk about." Mordred only sign that he heard Merlin was a raised eyebrow. Merlin continued anyway, "I think you should stop calling me that."

Mordred studied Merlin's face for a second before responding, "You don't trust me. You think I'd let it slip in front of Arthur."

Merlin frowned. "That's not exactly it. For one, it's just not my name. My mother gave me the name Merlin, and so I'm more inclined to that than the name given to me by people I don't know." Mordred didn't react much to this reasoning, so Merlin continued, "And it's not a matter of trust. It's just that as we become more comfortable in each others presence, it's easier to mess up, and accidentally say something out loud."

"So what's your solution to that then?" Mordred retorted. "You think we should become less comfortable around each other?"

Merlin was confused at the leading question. "No, of course not," he denied. Merlin stepped further into the room, closer to Mordred, perched on the bed. "I just think we should be a bit more careful is all."

Mordred looked up at him doubtfully. Merlin walked even closer, and put a hand on Mordred's shoulder as if to show him, yes, I am comfortable around you. "Mordred," he began, then shook his head. He started over, "Mordred, I hope you know I feel that I am able to act myself around you more than anyone."

Now Mordred was surprised. "How could you say that? What about Arthur?"

Merlin thought carefully about how to phrase his thoughts. "With Arthur, yes it's generally easy to talk to him, but there are times... well, he just doesn't understand me well. I suppose it's hard to understand someone who keeps so many secrets from you." Merlin paused for a bit, thinking. Mordred was watching him with rapt attention. "Honestly, it's a bit hard sometimes, to act normal around him, when really I'm hiding a large part of who I am." Merlin's gaze zeroes in on Mordred. "I suppose you can understand that a bit, since you've come to Camelot."

Mordred looked down. "Yes, I believe I do understand," he said quietly. "I've made many good friends here, but I still feel a distance that I can't manage to close."

Merlin nodded in agreement. "Exactly. But with you, it's different. Even before, when I...wasn't exactly fond of you, I still felt like I didn't have to hide at all when around you.

Mordred let out a small laugh, "You certainly didn't hide your hatred for me."

Merlin winced. "I am sorry about that. It was unfair of me to treat you with such hostility with something you hadn't even done yet."

"And will never do." Mordred reminded him.

Merlin smiled. "Well I certainly hope not. As much of a prat he is, we do need Arthur to be King of Albion." Mordred gave a small smile at the teasing. Merlin watched him for a moment, then asked, "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

Mordred looked down. "No actually. Arthur came by earlier."

Oh. Know Merlin understood. "He offered you the position of Druid Ambassador?"

Mordred looked up in surprise. "Yes, he did. I just don't know how to respond."

Merlin frowned. "What are you talking about? It's an amazing opportunity. It puts you in a position to speak up for your people."

"I know that. And I am grateful for that, I just can't help but think," Mordred hesitates. "That perhaps you would be better for the job."

"Me?" Merlin asked, completely caught of guard. "But I'm not a druid."

Mordred nodded, "No, but you are an incredibly powerful warlock."

"But Arthur can't know about that," Merlin warned heavily.

Mordred sighed, "No, I know that, but your powers far surpass mine. It makes no sense why I would be a knight as well as the druid ambassador while you are stuck being a servant."

"Mordred," Merlin said, gaze softening. "My destiny will always be to serve and protect Arthur. Being his manservant is the easiest way to do that, and so I wouldn't give it up for the world. My powers will always be used in service to the once and future king." 

Merlin looked to see that Mordred was contemplating this information. Merlin continued, "Do you know what I said, when Arthur asked what I think of this idea?" Mordred had a hopeful look in his eyes. Merlin smiled, and told him, "I said that it was a great idea. Mordred, I couldn't think of a better person for this job. You are incredibly smart and quick-witted. You can manage to be objective in order to pass correct judgement. And of course, you empathize with people. You are literally perfect for this job."

Mordred looked completely overwhelmed. "You really think I should do this?"

Merlin smiled kindly, "I think that the druids would be lucky to have you."

Mordred breathed out a sigh of relief. "You have no idea what that means, coming from you, Emrys."

Merlin laughed lightly. Then he startled. "Oof, speaking of druids, we should probably get going. Wouldn't wanna be late for welcoming."

"And risk Arthur screaming for us?" Mordred teased.

"Ugh," Merlin complained "You heard that from all the way over here?"

"Merlin," Mordred laughed, "I'm sure the druids it heard it from the forests."

Merlin groaned.

\------------------------

As the king's manservant, Merlin was generally one of the people who took apart in the welcoming committee for important guest, standing on the stairs behind and to the side of Arthur. Generally it was a drag, and ended with him lagging heavy bags to an elaborately set up room for a stuck up lord or lady. Now though, Merlin was glad for the chance to scope out the druids as they approached the castle.

The closer they got, the more unassuming they appeared. They seemed slightly ragged, perhaps from living in forests, with simple, earth toned cloaks on. There were a mix of women and men, and there were a decent amount of them, around a dozen. This made Merlin slightly uneasy, because while there were many more knights than that, if the druids possessed magic the knights would be sorely outmatched. Also, Merlin didn't recognize any of the druids as ones he had met before. Curious, he asked, _Mordred? Do you know any of these druids?_

Mordred was standing in line with the rest of the king's knights. He glanced over at Merlin before redirecting his focus straight ahead at the druids. _No, I don't. Most likely they're from a different village, perhaps one closer to Camelot._

Merlin sighed. _Pity. I was hoping having familiar faces around would make this go easier._

Mordred shifted slightly. _I wouldn't be too worried Emrys. They are still druids, I'm certain they'd be interested in peace._ Mordred seemed uncomfortable with Merlin's unease. Perhaps it was because he grew up as a druid, so he had no hesitation about their intentions.

Merlin on the other hand, was wary of anyone who could harm Arthur. _I do hope you're right._ He let silence fall for a minute. The druids were closer but still had a long way to walk. Welcoming committee could get rather boring. After a little, he thought of something. _Mordred?_ he asked. _You're better at this mind-speak, do you think you could greet them? And maybe slip in a hint that they probably shouldn't acknowledge either of us as anything other than a knight and a servant._

Mordred gave an amused telepathic chuckle. _I'm sure they would already assume so, but I can slip in a message for you._

Merlin thanked him, and then let his mind wander. He had given up on trying to figure out what exactly Arthur was planning to do with this peace treaty, but something he could try to unravel was the issue with Merlin's speech. It seemed that if he tried to say something untruthful, he ended up uttering the truth instead? He really needed to figure out what was going on with that, but whenever he started to try, he got interuppt-

_Emrys?_

Merlin was startled out of his thoughts, lost his balence and nearly tripped down the stair he was standing on. Arthur turned around at the sudden movement, but just rolled his eyes when he saw Merlin's sheepish look. "Honestly, Merlin. At least pretend to have some decorum in front of our guests."

Merlin just shot him a sheepish grin before focusing on the mind that had spoken to him. It hadn't been Mordred's. That meant one of the druids was speaking with him. He looked and saw that there was an old druid in the front of the procession, presumable the druid cheiftan, who was staring straight at Merlin. _Oh._ Merlin said. _Hello._

The druids were close enough that Merlin could tell that the chief was smiling at him kindly when he responded, _My name is Behar. I have received your request for anonymity, and will ensure that my people abide by that. It is an honor to meet you, Emrys._

Merlin hesitated slightly before he bowed his head in respect to the leader, and said, _Thank you for understanding. It's honor to meet you as well._

Behar laughed kindly inside Merlin's head. _Hardly. I'm not in many prophecies._

Merlin smiled at this, but responded, _It is not any prophecy that makes a person great. It is their actions that really matter. And you are here today, to unite druids in peace with Camelot. Personally, I'd call that great._

Merlin can see that Behar laughs out loud at this. The other druids give him curious looks before turning their gazes towards Merlin. Merlin drops his head and moves over a bit so that he's more directly behind Arthur, hoping that the king would assume the glances were directed at him. Behar responded to Merlin, _My, you certainly live up to your name, don't you Emrys?_

Merlin wasn't sure how to respond to an assessment like that, and luckily he didn't have to, for the druids had finally arrived at the entrance to the castle. The druid procession stopped in place, and Arthur walked up to greet them. He spread his arms wide and greeted, "Welcome to Camelot, friends. I am King Arthur Pendragon"

Merlin thought that may have been a bit forward, but Behar merely smiled kindly, saying, "I certainly hope we are still friends by the end of this, my dear king. I am chieftain Behar, and on behalf of the druids I thank you for inviting us into your kingdom.

Arthur smiled wider, and Merlin could see his tense shoulders relax into relief. The kindness of Behar seemed to set him at ease, and let him believe that creating the peace treaty would be that much easier. "Our castle staff has made up rooms for your procession, if you would like to retire before beginning our discussion?"

A few of the druids did not seem happy about that suggestion, it wasn't very noticeable, but there was some frowning and muttering in the back of the group. Behar waited for moment, most likely speaking to some of the group telepathically to hear their views on the matter, before he responded to Arthur, "As much as I would love to rest my weary legs after the long journey, I do believe that we should begin the proceedings as soon as possible."

Arthur seemed slightly disheartened, but he covered it quick with a hearty, "Of course, of course, I can understand being eager for peace. Let's get going then, shall we?

And with that Arthur led everyone up and into the castle, and then to the meeting room. They knew before hand that there were too many people for everyone to sit down, so the chairs were cleared away so that everyone was left standing round the table. As a servant, Merlin had to let everyone else in before himself, so he was one of the last walking in. On his way to stand behind Arthur again, he passed by the druids. He heard multiple voices call out to him, _Emrys._ Suprised, he stopped wihout thinking about it. He turned to see many of the druids staring at him, including Behar. _Emrys, please, stand with us._ The voices called out in unison.

Merlin blinked. That was odd. Was it like a multi-person telepathic conversation? Merlin hadn't known that was possible. But then, he only knew one other person who he could communicate that way with, so it was entirely possible that- 

_Emrys?_ Merlin turned to see Mordred looking at him like he was crazy. That's when Merlin remembered that he had been one of the last people to come in so the fact that he had just stopped in the middle of the room was noticeable to everyone. He winced, then slowly turned to see if Arthur had noticed.

Yep. If a glower of that caliber meant anything it meant that Arthur had noticed. "Oh!" Merlin said. "Sorry, I- sorry." And he scurried off to his rightful place behind Arthur. Then to the druids who had called out to him, he said apologetically, _Sorry, but I should probably stand behind my king._

The druids who had spoken to him looked slightly put out at that news. Behar spoke to him, _That is fine Emrys, you should stand behind your king for now. But I do hope that one day, you can stand with him._ Merlin didn't notice the subtle but significant difference between the two phrases. He looked down, not sure what to say. He could feel Mordred's curious gaze on him, but ignored it. 

Arthur, in regards to Merlin's blunder, heaved a tortured sigh, before announcing, "Well then, shall we begin?"

\-------------------------------

Generally, court meetings were so incredibly boring that Merlin didn't even bother trying to pay attention. He had assumed that it would be different for this one, that he had enough resting on this subject that he would be in rapt attention the entire time.

However, it was still a court meeting. Honestly, Merlin tried to pay attention, but the boring legality of everything made his mind drift off at times. He managed to catch the gist of it however. Arthur would allow the druids to come into Camelot. They could use Camelot's forest, and it's marketplace. They could even buy houses or land to live in the villages or lower city, and in exchance they would be considered citizens of Camelot.

"In fact," Arthur declared. "I would be willing to put money into building new houses for solely your use, so you wan't have to worry about paying for them yourselves in order to integrate into our villages."

The druids stirred at this. They spoke in hush whispers among themselves, however they didn't seem as excited as Arthur had assumed they would be at the offer.

Behar smiled at Arthur and replied, "That is a tempting offer, however it is unnecessary. The, majority, of our people prefer to dwell within the forests." The minority of that probably consisted solely of Mordred, Merlin thought to himself. Behar continued. "However, it seems that all you have been doing is offering us sanctuary. I do wonder, what exactly do you get out of this?"

That was a very good question. One that Merlin wanted to know as well. Arthur thought for a moment, compiling his thoughts. "Well, for one, I believe that the way my father treated you was unfair. I simply want to right his wrongs." Arthur paused for a moment to let that thought sink in. Arthur understood that what he was offering was essentially the basic rights that any citizen of Camelot already had, the same rights that the druids had long been denied under Uther's reign.

Then, Arthur continued, "Of course, there are plenty of reasons that this peace will be good for Camelot as well. Because of my father's laws, we do get many magic attackers. I'm hoping that this treaty will help those people to see that Camelot is not the same place it once was."

Behar raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? But you do not plan on allowing magic within Camelot, do you?"

The king shifted uncomfortably. He hesitated before responding, "Not yet, I don't. I would ask that if you reside inside our borders you refrain from using magic." 

Merlin sucked in a breath. He hoped that Arthur knew what he was doing because the druids did not looked please with that information. Merlin wasn't exactly ecstatic either. Looks like he would have to wait a bit longer for his destiny to come to pass. but then, why would Arthur allow druids to enter Camelot if he didn't approve of magic?

That's when Arthur continued, "I think that it would not be good for my people to suddenly change the laws like that, after being under anti-magic for so long. I believe that if I am to legalize magic, it will be a long process, in order to not upset my kingdom. And I think that peace with the druids would be a good first step."

The room was completely silent for a long few moments as everyone absorbed the news. It seemed that everyone there was surprised at Arthur's words, Gwen, the knights, the druids, and of course Merlin himself. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, and chanced a glance at Mordred. They exchanged amazed looks.

Behar was deep in thought for a long while, before he let a loud laugh burst forth. "My, you certainly are a wise king, aren't you? It seems you live up to your prophecy as well."

Uh oh. Suddenly Merlin wasn't as cheerful. He tried to shoot a warning look at Behar, but the chief was still looking straight at Arthur. Why on earth would Behar mention prophecies? 

Arthur, for his part, looked extremely confused. "I'm sorry, what? Prophecy? About me?" He seemed uncomfortable with the notion, which Merlin couldn't relate to more. Prophecies sure were a pain sometimes.

"Of course. You didn't know?" Behar replied. 

Behar looked curiously at Merlin. Merlin tried shaking his head, but Behar didn't seem to understand what he meant. _Behar, please stop now. It's better if Arthur doesn't know about this._

Now Behar had to have understood him, so he must have simply ignored Merlin. "You are the prophesied Once and Future King," he told Arthur.

Arthur mouthed the words to himself. Then he turned around and asked, "Merlin?" Merlin was frozen in shock, eyes wide open. How on earth had Arthur figured it out already? Arthur continued, "Doesn't that sound familiar? I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."

Merlin relaxed a bit. Arthur still had no idea just how much he knew about the prophecy. Merlin could just deny ever hearing it before- 

Except wait. No, he couldn't. Merlin was still bound to telling the truth. How could he possibly get out of this without letting telling Arthur how much he knows? He stared at Arthur, mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of something he could say. "Uhhh...." Arthur was giving him a look that said a lot bout what he thought about Merlin's mental capabilities. 

"It's very possible that you've heard it before. It is a very common druid prophecy." Saved by the druid. Mordred had spoken up in order to save Merlin from having to answer. However, now all eyes were on Mordred.

Arthur looked at Mordred curiously. "And what exactly does the prophecy say about me?"

"Well," Mordred hesitated, glancing over at Merlin. Merlin nodded for him to continue. Arthur wouldn't give up now, and Merlin would rather have Mordred be the one to tell him than someone who might not take as much care to keep Merlin's identity hidden. Mordred seemed reassured, and so he continued, "The prophecies say that the Once and Future will be the one to unite all of Albion. He will bring magic back into the lands. And... He would do so with the help of Emrys."

"Emrys." Arthur said. Mordred nodded in confirmation. "So then, what exactly is Emrys' role in all of this?" Arthur asked, and Merlin nearly fainted on the spot.

Mordred winces, but opens his mouth to respond, "Well-"

"Could this be what you get out of the deal?" Behar cut him off, a slight amused look on his face. "Information about our prophecies?"

Arthur looked bashful. He brought a hand up to rub at his neck. "Well not officially," he admitted. "But I was always curious about it. Especially considering the rumors that he is in my court." 

Behar smiled and said, "Well, no one can blame you for that. Let me tell you about Emyrs then."

Merlin got a slight sense of forbearance. He glanced at Mordred, but Mordred just gave him a helpless look. There was nothing they could do now but listen to Behar. Arthur surely was happy with that option, for he was staring at Behar with intense and rapt attention.

Behar gave a mysterious smile. He had the air of a father telling a his son a fairytale story. "Emrys is prophesied to be the most powerful warlock there ever will be." 

Arthur looked alarmed at this news. But he nodded, and then asked, "Sorry, but Warlock? Is that the same as a sorcerer?"

Behar chuckled, "Not quite. A sorcerer studies and practices magic. A warlock on the other hand, is born with magic."

Arthur looked intrigued. "Born with it? Is that possible?"

"For Emyrs, it is. In fact, Emrys doesn't have to study magic, because he _is_ magic. The very core of his being is magic."

Confused, Arthur asked, "So what, is he like the personification of magic?" Merlin frowned, because wasn't that an odd thought

But Behar just chuckled, "Not exactly no. He is simply the old religion's choice."

"Choice? For what?" Arthur asked. 

"Ah, that's where the rest of the prophecy comes into play. Emrys is to be your protector. The destiny of Emrys is to stand with you, at your side, as you unite Albion together."

Merlin looked down. That was like what Behar had said earlier, that Merlin should stand with Arthur not behind him. Merlin couldn't take this anymore. _Behar please. I am Arthur's manservant. I can protect from this position, and so, to Arthur, I will continue to be nothing but his servant._

Behar gave him a steely gaze. _But you could be so much more than that, Emrys. You deserve more than that._

"That's not true." Merlin said. And then cursed himself to infinity, because did he just say that out loud? Everyone in the room turned to look at him, so ye, he did just say that out loud.

"Merlin," Arthur warned in a loud and annoyed tone.

Merlin winced, but Behar said, "No, it's okay. Let him speak." Wait what? No, Merlin did not want to speak right now. But Behar continued. "What do you not agree with... Merlin?"

Merlin gave Behar a tortured stare, but he didn't seem like he was going to budge on the matter. Everyone else was watching him for what he would say as well. Merlin sighed, and said, "Well, it's just that, you said that Emrys would be the king's protector. Doen't that mean that he would stand behind the king, in his shadow, if you will. I think that the king will be the one to really unite's Albion. Emrys' job is just to make sure that the king lives long enough to make that happen. Which admittedly, could be a very strenuous job." Arthur gave Merlin a look of disbelief. Merlin defended himself, "What, you've got people trying to kill you all the time! It's hard to keep up sometimes. Or, I mean, I imagine it would be tough to..." Merlin winced at his blunder.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Merlin, don't be stupid." Merlin gave him a look of shock and offense. Arthur continues, "Emrys is supposed to be the most powerful warlock, and you think that he's just a glorified bodyguard? He's got to have a bit more importance than just that."

Merlin sighed, "Arthur, please, you don't understand."

"I think he understands fine," Mordred says. 

Mordred is standing straight, and looking down so Merlin can't look at his face. Merlin narrows his eyes. _Traitor_ He tells Mordred. 

Mordred shifts uneasily. _I'm just saying what I believe Emrys. You deserve more than this._

Before Merlin can respond, Behar speaks up. "Indeed. Emrys's power is destined for more than just the shadows. But now, I do think that we've covered enough ground to form a solid base. Why don't we retire today, and then reconvene again tomorrow?

Arthur nodded, "Yes, that sounds like good idea. I probably need to speak to my staff about boundaries," he said, sending Merlin a glare. Merlin looked down at the ground.

Behar laughed. "Oh please, don't be too harsh on him. It was an interesting discussion."

Arthur gave a tight smile. "Of course." 

And with that everyone filed out of the meeting room to get on with the rest of the day. Merlin attempted to silently follow behind the knights, but Arthur grabbed him by the neck of the shirt.

"Uh uh uh. Where do you think you're going _Mer_ lin?"

Merlin cursed his luck. This was not going to be a fun conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behar is my fave and no one can take that away from me. I was gonna have the druids be a little problematic, but I couldn't do that to poor Behar so I just made their love for Emrys a little problematic.
> 
> PS Please do not get used to how quickly I posted this, and also. I was just really excited to get the druids out, and also feeling kinda bad for how long the last chapter took.


	9. Merlin's Life is a Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the second day of the druid peace treaty meetings, Behar and Merlin have a talk to clarify some things, there's an invisible attack at the meeting itself, and Merlin bumps into an old lady and ends up revealing a lot more than he can handle.

Merlin was not hiding. Hiding implies that you have a secret that you don't want known- which, okay yeah Merlin did have that. So technically, Merlin _was_ hiding. Not that he'd actually admit to it. He preferred to call it "admiring nature." Merlin had found an isolated little garden just outside of the castle that he had taken a liking to. It And if there happened to be trees and large bushes that hid the inside of the garden from the view of the castle? All the better. 

Plus, with the second meeting with the druids in an hour, Arthur was much too busy to go strolling through the gardens, so it was guaranteed to be king-free.

So Merlin felt quite safe as he "admired nature." He took a seat on a bench in the shade of a willow tree. There was absolutely no one around so Merlin felt free to be himself. He was happy to simply admire his surroundings, though he did have something on his mind that was distracting him. Now, with this peace and quiet perhaps he could finally figure it out. Recently, something was wrong with the words he was speaking. They didn't always match up with his thoughts. Instead, it was like he was being forced to tell the truth. Could he potentially be the victim of some kind of truth spell?

Merlin shuddered at the thought. That would be horribly inconvenient. Whoever did this has no idea how dangerous Merlin's truth could be- unless they did? Does whoever did this know about Merlin's secret? Is this their way of sabotaging him, so he's forced to say it himself? That being said, who could possibly have done this-

_Emrys._

Merlin lost his train of thought. He startled, and looked up to see Behar smiling at him warmly. "Behar." He greeted, out loud. The garden was isolated enough that no one could hear them and not many people walked through it, so Merlin felt safe enough to speak aloud. "And uh, it's Merlin." Merlin really did not want to add to the list of close calls he had been having recently, and explaining why the chief of the druids called him a warlock's name would not be easy to explain. 

Behar's smile tempered out slightly. He studied Merlin's face shortly before heaving a sigh. He sat down on the bench next to Merlin and said, "I fear I have chafed too much on your nerves. You wish I would leave soon, don't you?"

"No!" Merlin denied vehemently. Which apparently was true. "You haven't chafed...that much." Merlin winced but Behar seemed content with that answer. Merlin continued, "We have differing viewpoints on the importance of... Emrys, but there's not much that can be done to prove either side. Time will tell how much he means , either in the shadows, or the, uh, light or whatever." Merlin grew uncomfortable. He disliked speaking about Emyrs' role in Albion. All he knew from Kilgharrah and his prophecies was that Arthur would bring about Albion. Merlin's job has always been to make sure that prat of a king lives long enough to do so. It's what he had been doing since he met Arthur, he was comfortable in the shadows, under the role of secret protector. To bring it to the light, well, what would Arthur think?

Behar, not privy to Merlin's dilemma, responded to Merlin, "I suppose you are right. Whether Emrys works from the shadow of Arthur or the light of the future is beyond our choice, but dependent on the Old Religion and its ways."

For some reason, this did not comfort Merlin. He shrugged, not fulling conceding but not arguing either. He did have another problem that he needed to address. "Behar, I appreciate you being here. This is a tremendous step forward in the destiny of Albion. But-" Merlin hesitated, searching for the right phrasing, "I do hope you can be a little more... cautious... with how you act around me? It's just, there's a lot going on, so I'd appreciate if I didn't have to worry about Arthur picking up on anything suspicious, which he seems pretty keen to do recently, the prat."

Behar smiled slightly at Merlin's word choice, but he mostly seemed troubled. He stayed silent for a time, before starting, "Merlin, do you really think it wise to hide yourself away? I know you are against Emrys being an equal to the king, but does that really mean that the king can't even know his identity?

Merlin froze. He stared forward in seeming incomprehension. Then he jumped up off the bench and exclaimed, "No!" He took a shaky breath and started pacing around the garden area before expanding, "No, no Arthur can't know about me, I can't tell him about me!"

Behar's eyes followed Merlin's form as he walked back and forth. "Why not?" He asks simply.

Merlin stops in his tracks to look at Behar. "Why not?" He demands. He continues, speaking quicker and more passionately, "Well, there's the fact that according to Camelot's current laws, I'd be executed! Not to mention that Arthur probably wouldn't believe me at first. I'm just his stupid manservant, could I really be capable of hiding this big a secret from him since the day we met? And isn't that just right, if he doesn't hate me for having magic, he'll surely hate me for lying to him every day of my life!" Merlin let these words flow out of him, before suddenly stopping. He had never actually put the words to why Arthur couldn't know about his magic before. At first, there was only the threat of execution and wasn't that enough? But now, it was more than that. He sighed, and continued more calmly, "It's too late now. I've been Arthur's manservant for many years now, I can't just tell him that all of those stupid excuses I made were for the single purpose of hiding my magic from him. Even, if he didn't execute me right away, he'd surely fire me. I can't risk his reaction. If I want to stay by his side as his protector, I'll have to continue on the way I am." 

Behar gave no expression throughout Merlin's speech. He didn't smile or frown, but simply studied Merlin's face and listened to his words. Once Merlin was finished, he asked "Do you really believe that Arthur would execute you? No, more than that, what do you fear more? Arthur executing you, or Arthur hating you so much that he pushes you away?"

Merlin wasn't really sure what to say. He didn't know the real answer. Would Arthur actually execute him? It was the law, he was bound to it. Actually, Arthur did try to execute him, one time when Merlin was pretending to be Dragoon the Great. Even if Arthur did try to execute him, he could easily get out of it. Maybe go back home and help out his mother. Well no, that would put his mother in danger. But he could find some other place to live.

But would Merlin really want to?

If Arthur hated him enough to execute him, what would be the point? If Arthur hated him that much, hated magic that much, would Albion ever be possible? His destiny wouldn't be achievable. Merlin might as well let himself burn.

" _Mer_ lin!" Merlin startled out of his thoughts. "That's Arthur," He realized. He quickly explained to Behar, "The meeting will be starting soon, I have to go see what he needs." Merlin started to rush out of the garden, almost glad for the interruption. When he got towards the exit though, he turned around, and called out to Behar _Thank you_ Merlin said to him. _For talking this all out with me._

Behar smiled kindly. _No, Emrys, thank you._

With those parting words, Merlin dashed off to help the king with last minute duties. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second meeting was about as interesting as the first, meaning not at all. It was laying down more details about the treaty and the expectations from both sides. 

Again, Merlin tried to pay attention but legalities were not his thing, so he may have tuned all the talk out at some point. Currently, Merlin was wondering how much longer he'd have to be standing, when he heard _Merlin!_ Merlin startled out of his thoughts, and let out a confused, "What?"

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to do. Since the room had been relatively quiet at the time, he was heard by everyone. All eyes turned to look at the manservant. Merlin winced. Arthur glared, and barked, "Well Merlin? Did you have something to say?"

"Uh," Merlin replies. "No?"

Arthur rolls his eyes, then turns back to Behar. "As I was saying, you wouldn't be allowed to trade any magical items at the marketplace, but you could set up stands to sell whatever else you may wish."

Behar asked, "What about healing herbs, would that be allowed?"

"As long as they're not imbued with magic, that should be fine. I hope you understand that this is a temporary precaution, and as soon as I feel my kingdom is ready, I hope to integrate magic into the community. I ask only for your patience."

Behar smiles kindly at Arthur, "Patience is easy to preach when you're not the one waiting." Arthur seemed a little put off by this, and was unsure what to say, but Behar continued, "But I do understand your caution. You wish to find a middle ground, and not rush from one extreme to another. It points to your wisdom as a leader. I simply hope that you can appreciate my eagerness."

Arthur smiled tightly, and inclined his head in understanding. "Thank you. I will certainly do all in my power to make this switch as smoothly and and quickly as possible."

At this point Merlin was about to get lost in his thoughts again when he heard, _Merlin!_

Merlin looked around to see Mordred staring at him intensely. He frowned, and asked, _Mordred? What is it?_

 _Somethings wrong. The guards outside the door have been knocked out. And I feel a magical presence. I think,_ Mordred started, hesitating slightly, _I think it may be Morgana._

Merlin chilled at the name. _What?_ He asked. _You're certain? Morgana's outside the door right now? I have to go stop her._

And he would have if Mordred hadn't asked, _And how are you going to do that without exposing yourself? How would you explain how you even knew she was there?_

Merlin cursed under his breath. Mordred had a point, but he had to do something. He searched for her presence within his mind. He found her directly outside the door. She was preparing to make a grand entrance, throwing open the doors with magic. Well, if there was one thing that Merlin could do, it was to keep those doors shut.

He pushed all of his magic into holding those doors in place. He felt as Morgana attempted the opposite. The door wavered very slightly at the fight between sides. Merlin could sense Morgana's confusion, which turned into determination. She put more effort into opening the doors. Merlin winced, struggling to keep the doors in place. They wavered a little stronger than before, but not enough for anyone to notice.

Or, almost anyone. Behar looked towards the swaying door than quickly glanced back towards Merlin with a questioning gaze. Merlin was too focused to mindspeak to Behar and let him know what was going on, so instead Merlin just shook his head slightly, telling Behar not to worry, he was handling it. Whether or not he could actually handle it was another question.

Merlin had his hand up slightly to put more effort into it, and he was standing very rigid. Morgana was a worthy foe. Her magic rivaled Merlin's own, and Merlin started to lean forwards as all his energy was going into pushing the door back. But in the end, Merlin's magic was more powerful. Merlin could still sense Morgana's emotions when she realized this. At first it was shock, at being bested. Then fear. Morgana had realized that the one fighting against her had been Emrys, and she had felt firsthand that ultimately he was stronger than her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to battle head to head with him, or she would risk losing.

Suddenly, the pressure attempting to push the door forward was released. At the sudden change, Merlin fell forward in relief. He didn't completely fall down, but he did have to use his hands to stabilize himself and push himself back up. He suddenly felt the effects of his intense magic use. Lightheaded and drained, he swayed slightly, but managed not to fall over again. He couldn't afford to use much more magic, but he weakly felt out to see if he could detect Morgana's presence. He couldn't, she must have fled, fearing retaliation. Maybe he should ask Mordred. But maybe in a little bit because he was still feeling lightheaded, and maybe a little nauseous too. 

Within a few seconds though, he was able to regain himself just enough to realize that the room was very quiet. Another few seconds, and he realized why. Everyone was staring at him. Well, technically Arthur was glaring at him. _Aw crap_ Merlin thought to himself. _No one could see the intense battle that just went on, so of course they all think I tripped for no good reason._

Merlin tried to pass it off with a goofy smile at Arthur, but Arthur said, "Merlin what on earth is wrong with you? All you have to do is stand still, did you really muck that up but falling? How could you even manage something as ridiculous as falling while not even moving?" Merlin winced. Arthur however was on a roll, as he continued in a mocking voice. "What, did you fall asleep while standing up? I'm sorry, did all the big words bore you?"

Personally, Merlin thought that Arthur was just making a big deal out of this because he was bored. They had been in this meeting for a few hours now. But, managing to have some tact, Merlin simply said, "Sorry, sire. It won't happen again."

Unfortunately, Arthur was not happy with that apology. He continued his public torment, saying, "Oh, don't say that Merlin, we all know that with you, anything's possible," Merlin could feel the nerves of the druids bristling with that insult to Emrys. He would've tried to comfort them somehow, maybe giving them telepathic comfort vibes, but Merlin was too tired, and felt to weak to try that. So he just sighed as Arthur continued his verbal attack on Merlin, "So, which was it? Did you fall asleep, or are you just that clumsy?"

"I-" Merlin started, before remembering that he couldn't lie. The only thing he could say was that he had just used magic to stop an attack from Morgana before it even started. Merlin laughed to himself. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Merlin tells Arthur, completely seriously.

Arthur looked vaguely confused and not at all satisfied with this answer, and most likely was about to proclaim exactly that, but Behar intervened. He said, "Perhaps we should take this interruption as a hint that it is time to finish for the day. We are making good time, and if all goes well we will most likely be able to finish up tomorrow."

Arthur turned back into the friendly king and replied, "Yes, of course. Let's reconvene at the same time tomorrow. Thank you, and I am truly sorry about my manservant." Arthur spoke graciously to Behar, but leveled a glare at Merlin afterwards. Merlin winced. Why was it always him?

Behar chuckled. "It's not a problem. Perhaps he could use some rest." Behar looked at Merlin questioningly, but Merlin simply smiled tightly in response. Morgana was gone now, there was no need to worry everyone that she had been here in the first place. Behar turned away, and gestured to the rest of the druids. Silently, they all rose and left the room, bowing their heads lightly in the direction of Emrys. Luckily, Arthur was in front of him, so it simply looked as if they were paying their respects to the king.

As soon as they were gone, Arthur turned back towards Merlin and began to speak, but before he could say anything worthwhile, Merlin hurriedly said, "Well now that that's over I've got to go, uh, back to Gaius." What he really needed to do was go lay down before he passed out due to magical exhaustion, but assuming Gaius is in his chambers, going to Gaius would be going to his bed. Sort of. Well, the truth spell that he may or may not have on him allowed him to say that, so he'll take it.

Merlin rushed out of the room before Arthur could respond, and most likely would have fallen over as soon as he got out of the door if someone hadn't been there to grab his arm and pull him along. Merlin could only tell who it was because he felt the calm presence of Mordred's mind beside him.

On the way up to Merlin's chambers, Mordred said, _It appears that Morgana left in fear of your superior magic. She'll probably be back, coming for a surprise attack instead of an expected battle, but for now, you did good Merlin._

Merlin didn't even have the energy to respond, whether he would say thanks for Mordred warning him about Morgana in the first place, or tell Mordred off for calling him Emyrs.

Merlin managed to make it up the stairs and through the doors to Gaius's chambers before promptly passing out.

\--------------------------------------------------------

Merlin wakes up, disoriented. He looks around him only to see the same view he wakes up to in the morning everyday. So he's lying in his own bed. Mordred must have laid him down, because he didn't remember getting all the way into his personal room. Merlin manages to get up, and ventures outside his room to see if he can find Gaius. He really needs to talk to someone about everything that's happening right now, and he could always count on Gaius to make some quip about how Merlin is failing so spectacularly at life, which is bound to motivate Merlin to do better. However, the large room is empty. Merlin glaces out the window and realizes that it's still the middle of the day, so Gaius might be out making potion deliveries. However, Merlin really needs someone to talk to, so a little disoriented, Merlin goes downstairs and outside to try and find his guardian.

He makes it out to the town square before something goes wrong, because of course something goes wrong, he's _Merlin._

As Merlin rushes out, he notices someone. The old lady in black, from the marketplace. What would she be doing here? She was just skulking around, glaring at the castle every now and then. She sees Merlin looking at her, so she scowls at Merlin, and then goes to walk away from the castle, but Merlin calls out, "Hey, wait!" and runs a bit to catch up with her. The old lady turns around and glares at Merlin, with a crazed look in her eyes. _Her eyes_ Merlin realizes. _I recognizes her eyes. But whose eyes are they?_ "Do I know you?" He asks, because he does, but he needs to be sure, needs to know that he's right.

The old lady smirks, and proudly lifts up her chin. She walks up close to him, and the closer she gets the more Merlin recognizes her. "I don't know," she says, in a rough whisper. "Just who do you think I am?" Morgana is playing a dangerous game, because she knows that he can't lie.

He hesitates, looking around the town square, but no one is looking at them, and they have a decent amount of privacy. Merlin looks into her eyes. Now he's confident about the truth. "Morgana," he says, resigned.

She stares at him, almost in awe. Then she laughs, a mean laugh, a witch's cackle. "You know, Merlin," she mocks, "for someone who's supposed to be an idiot, you really are too clever for your own good."

Merlin realizes his mistake. They're in public, so there's no way he can stop her without outing himself, and Morgana could easily hurt any of the people walking ignorantly around them. There was nothing Merlin could do. So he begs. "Please," he says, "you don't have to hurt anyone. I heard your letter, all you want to do is talk right? Then fine, talk."

"I take that back. You are an idiot Merlin. Why on earth would I want to talk to you?" Morgana asks incredulously. How dare this boy confront her in public? She wanted nothing more than to publicly kill him, and slowly. But she couldn't risk exposing herself. Emrys was around, and she knew it. She'd settle for scaring the wits out of Merlin.

Merlin, on the other hand, cursed himself for forgetting not everyone knew he was Emrys. He remembered the letter she had sent a few days ago, asking to talk to and even meet up with her, but with everything else going on Merlin simply hadn't had the time. Now he was even mixing up Merlin with Emrys. He really needed a day off. "I meant to say," Merlin amends, "that if you left a message, I could deliver it to Emrys."

There, that should solve it.

Morgana looks at him with newfound interest. "Oh, you're not even lying. You can't lie." She asks, "You know Emrys from the druids then? You do realize passing a message like that is probably considered treason?"

"Story of my life," he mutters to himself, because isn't it just? However, from the gleeful look on her face, she heard him as well. Merlin curses himself again, just for good measure. Maybe two days off would be better. 

Morgana glances up and above Merlin's shoulder and sees something that makes her give off a nasty grin. She says a loud voice, "So then, are you saying you know who Emrys is?"

Merlin frowns. Hadn't she already confirmed that? "Yes, of course, so if you could just-"

"What?"

Merlin's eyes widened in horror. No, he mouthed. Morgana cackles. No, oh no no no. This had to be a joke, a great cosmic joke. Merlin takes a deep, deep breath before he turns around to face the music.

He nearly wants to turn back around when he catches sight of the stony look Arthur was giving him, standing at the entrance to the castle. Merlin couldn't believe this situation. Had he really admitted to knowing who Emrys was to Morgana? And doing it in public as well? It just figures Arthur would choose that time to walk by, leading the knights. He could see all of the knights giving wary looks at the situation.

"Arthur please," he begs, "It's not what it- okay well it is, but it's just that, and I mean-she-!" Merlin turns to gesture at Morgana, only to realize she had already scurried off. Figures. Why had he thought talking was a good idea?

"Enough," Arthur commands. "Just tell me, were you telling the truth? Do you know Emrys' identity?" Of course he was telling the truth, he can't lie! Wait one second, didn't Morgana say something like that, how did she know? Had she-?

No, now was not the time to think about that. Merlin knows he's been caught. Honestly, he's surprised that he made it this far. There's nothing he can do to deny now anyway, so unless he ignores the question, "Yes, I do," admitting it is all he can do. Arthur's expression still hadn't changed. Merlin was honestly wishing he would get angry. A shouting Arthur, Merlin could work with, but this cold and calm Arthur? Uncharted territory. 

Arthur stares at Merlin for a while, most likely taking in the utterly unexpected betrayal. Merlin wants to say something to defend himself, but there's nothing to say. Arthur asks, "And how long have you known about this sorcerer?"

"Oh, well, okay, that's a bit complicated, you see-"

How long!" Arthur demands, his voice shaking. They certainly had the attention of everyone around now.

Merlin winced. Technically, he'd known about that name since the druids had told him that's what he was called. "A while." He says.

Arthur takes this information in. "And you didn't tell me." Its not a question. Merlin doesn't answer. "Merlin, what exactly are your views on magic?"

Merlin stares in horror, "Arthur please, don't ask me that, not here, not now," he says lowly, looking around at the knights, as well as the people that were starting to gather at the argument. Did they really have to do this in public? Merlin was banking on the fact that Arthur's view on magic was changing would meant that he would just disregard the controversy when Merlin had told Arthur that magic didn't have a place in Camelot, and recently when Merlin was happily going along with Arthur's plan to slowly integrate the druids and magic itself.

Obviously, Arthur would rather address Merlin's seemingly fickle views. Ignoring all of their public onlookers, Arthur rages, "I am sick of you putting this conversation off! Yes now, yes here! Tell me! Do you think magic is evil, or do you think it's good?"

There was no way Merlin could get out of this now. He curses himself for not taking care of his problem beforehand. Merlin sighs, frustrated. "Okay," he says, as the fights taken out of him. "Okay fine. You want to know what I think? I don't think magic is good or evil. I think that it's a tool, and if it is used for good or evil purposes, that shows more about the person who wields it than the magic itself" 

Merlin could see that Arthur had trouble completely understanding what he was saying. He searches for a way to clearly explain his complicated feelings on the matter. "Okay, how about this?" Merlin starts. "You could think of magic as a sword. In the wrong hands, a sword is deadly, used to attack innocents, or kill out of anger, or for power or money. But in the right hands? In the hands of good man? A sword can be used to protect innocents. To defend or save people. But you know what? Magic is even greater than a sword. Because swords only harm people, even if it's for a good purpose, in the end, all swords are capable of is harm. And yes, of course, magic can be used to harm. It can be used to make storms, or ruin crops, or even hurt people without giving them a chance to defend themselves. But magic can also do so much good in this world. It can make rain, so crops can grow, it can be used to heal people, and fix things. And even more than that, it can be used for fun! Tell me Arthur, does making the image of a horse from the smoke of a fire seem like a really evil thing to you? Something worth being executed for?" 

Merlin is huffing in puffing, exhausted from the emotional and physical toll that his rant cost him. Once he regained his breath, he looked up to see Arthur looking very taken aback. And that wasn't all. It seemed that everyone who had been out and about in the town square had stopped what they were doing to listen to what Merlin had to say. Most were still shocked into stillness, just taking in what Merlin had said about magic

Merlin felt his heart drop. Had he really just said that? To the public, to Arthur? He had been holding it in for so long, he hadn't expected to explode like that. He glanced at Mordred, still standing behind Arthur. Merlin was sure that he would be disappointed with Merlin, for letting go like that.

Mordred's eyes were shining. He had on a pure smile. _Emrys_ He said. _That was- that was so beautiful. I am so proud of you._

Merlin looked down. He felt guilty, and Mordred's comment just served to make him feel worse.

Merlin turned back to Arthur. Arthur breathed a weary sigh. "Okay," he said. Merlin frowned. Okay? What was that supposed to mean? "I don't know why you didn't tell me that earlier."

Arthur motions to the knights and leads them down to the fields, where they were going to practice. Arthur walks right past Merlin without looking at him. Merlin watches him go uneasily. He has a feeling that the easy friendship between him and Arthur, which has been so stretched recently, had finally just snapped. 

Merlin barely notices as all of the knights quietly march behind Arthur. He doesn't notice any of the looks he is given, whether suspicious glances, unsure eyes, or even friendly smiles. He does notice when Gwaine clamps a hand on his shoulder. "That was quite a speech Merls!" He exclaims gaily. But when Merlin doesn't react, Gwaine continues quietly, "Merlin? Are you okay?"

Finally Merlin looks at him. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." He shakes his head, and tries for a smile. He's not really sure if he managed it or not. "Don't worry about me, get to your knight's practice. You don't want Ar-the king to notice if you're late"

Gwaine watches Merlin for a moment. He face becomes more serious than Merlin is used to. But then he relaxes into a smile. He says, "Yeah, sure. I'll see you later then." Merlin knows that he's not fooled but is glad that he doesn't push. Merlin isn't sure how much more he can take.

After Gwaine leaves, Mordred comes up to him. "Merlin," he starts.

Merlin cuts him off before he can continue. "I have to go," he says. He has to get out of here, he feels like he's suffocating, what if Arthur hates him now, for lying about what he really thinks? He turns away from the castle and starts to walk off.

But Mordred calls out to him again, _Emyrs,_ he starts, concerned.

Merlin cuts him off again. "Stop Mordred. Please... just stop." Merlin can't take it anymore. The thoughts running through his head, what Arthur and the public must think of him, how disappointed Gaius would be, how mortified his mother would be, Merlin can't take the swirling emotions anymore. He books it, just starts running away, towards the woods.

He needs to get out, to get away. And maybe find some answers. And he knew just the dragon for that.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The old lady in black watches as the scene progresses from far away. She watches the whole thing curiously. Merlin is certainly an unexpected character. Who knew he had such open views about magic? Or that he knew Emrys? Morgana definitely made the right choice for the truth spell. Things may have gone a bit different than he expected, but she could use this.

Morgana smiles as she watches Merlin sprint away from the scene. She sure hopes that there's more to come. In fact, she thinks to herself as her smile turns into a smirk, I should probably keep an eye on him. Just in case.

Morgana laughs to herself slightly, as she quietly follows Merlin away from Camelot and into the surrounding forests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm really sorry. Both for the wait (college) and because of what I've done to poor Merls, isolating him from everyone.
> 
> (Can you tell that I have no idea what I'm doing)
> 
> Let's just hope that Merlin (and the author) can figure out where to go from here.
> 
> Next time: look forward to seeing Kilgharrah, and probably some scenes from Arthur's view. Merlin is wondering what Arthur is thinking, and that's exactly what we'll see.
> 
> If you're actually reading this, thanks, and I'm sorry


	10. Everybody talks everybody talks everybody talks too much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically everyone is upset and venting about it, and then they all realize that all they really need is good communication (It's gwen's idea, of course).  
> (Also-chapter title from Everybody talks by Neon Trees because this chapter is a little too touchy-feely sorry)

After the incident in the town square, Arthur is hoping that the physical exercise of the knight's practice will be useful. Maybe it will help to get his thoughts in order. The knights all pair off for mock fights, Arthur pairs with Leon.

Arthur doesn't even know what to think about Merlin's impromptu speech. He dodges a swing from Leon. He's just completely confused, and caught off guard. He parries with Leon. Merlin had kept a secret from him. _Why?! How?!_ Arthur aimed a hard swing at Leon's head and was parried. When did Merlin get so philosophical in his views on magic? Arthur ducked to dodge Leon's swing. How on earth does Merlin know who Emrys is? Arthur's swing at Leon is parried. _And why hadn't he told Arthur about any of this?!_ Arthur stabs his sword forward harshly, and Leon barely manages to block it and is thrown to the ground by the force.

Arthur is torn from his thoughts, and he takes a second too long to realize what just happened. He then rushes forward and lends Leon an arm. As Leon takes it gratefully, Arthur asks, "Are you alright?"

After Leon stands up brushes the dirt off himself. "I'm fine," he says, then turns his eyes up towards Arthur and asks, "How about you?"

Arthur frowns, "Uh, you didn't hit me, I'm fine."

Leon nods slightly but disagrees, "I may not have hit you, but are you sure you're fine?"

Arthur understands what Leon is saying, that Merlin basically socked him in the gut earlier that afternoon, because that's kind of what it felt like. However, instead of responding, he quickly turns around and commands, "Switch partners!" He then starts to walk away from Leon, not even attempting subtlety. Arthur wonders why Merlin felt the need to hide his views even now when Arthur was working on changing the laws.

"Ha, why, so you can take out your frustrations on the rest of us? No thanks princess."

Surprised out of his thoughts, Arthur looks up at Gwaine. He hadn't meant to vent his frustrations, he had just gotten lost in thoughts. But honestly, he was a little annoyed with Merlin right now, and if that emotion bleed out a little? "Excuse me? Are you disrespecting your king right now?" Well, he was the king. He could get away with it.

Gwaine, however, looked like he didn't want Arthur to get away with his cool response. Gwaine's eyes narrowed, and he sauntered over to Arthur. Once he was close enough, he inquired, "What are you going to do to Merlin? If you even think about executing him just for his views and knowing a sorcerer..."

Arthur's eyes widened, because the thought of execution hadn't even crossed Arthur's mind. He supposed that protecting a sorcerer was technically a crime, but Arthur wasn't his father, and Merlin was... _Merlin._ Honestly Arthur probably wouldn't execute Merlin even if he was a sorcerer himself. Arthur nearly laughed. Merlin, a sorcerer? Yeah right.

Gwaine however, took Arthur's silence to mean something more sinister. He gets even closer and snarls, "I swear if you do anything that hurts Merlin, you'll have me to answer to."

Gwaine had finally got Arthur's complete attention. How had Merlin inspired such loyalty? Now if only that loyalty was directed towards Camelot. "Careful, Sir Gwaine," Arthur says, putting distance between the two of them. "You're close to spouting treason. Then Merlin wouldn't be the one executed." Arthur knows as soon as it's out of his mouth that he shouldn't have said it. But he was angry, and confused, and upset, and Gwaine really grated on his nerves sometimes. 

Gwaine is livid, and lifts a fist to smack Arthur, and Arthur was too ready for a physical battle, because of how wired his nerves were, and started forward. However, before anyone could get a strike in, Percival grabbed Gwaine's arm and Leon held Arthur back. Gwaine turned to glare at Percival, but he just shook his head. Mordred and Elyan stand by the scene, wary.

"Hey I have an idea," Elyan said. Everyone turned to look at him, and he grinned. "Let's skip practice and head to the tavern."

\------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm just, so... con-confused!" Arthur exclaimed, and then he hiccuped.

No one had objected to the tavern, not even the king. He figured he could use a glass of ale. Or five. At first, Arthur had sat at the bar, nursing his drink and wallowing in his thoughts. But as he got more and more drunk, he started to voice his thoughts.

"I mean, just why? You know?" He asked an empathetic Leon, who was not nearly as drunk, and barely understood Arthur. He nodded anyway.

"It's just, I thought that Merl-Merlin, was, was, my fri-my manservant! You know? Like, he could tell me anything! But then he lied? I just, I don't get it. I don't get-why? I mean, I- I didn't think Merlin could, even lie?" Arthur says, uncertain. He looks Leon in the eyes and demands, "Hey, tell me, did you know? Did you know that Mer- that he could, could lie?"

Leon hid a smirk. He said solemnly, "No sire, I did not know."

Arthur laughed at this. "Ha! He fooled you! Look at you, Merlin's got all of these ideas running through your head, and you don't know about any of them." Arthur grows somber. "It's like he, I don't know, doesn't think you'd wanna hear them? Or maybe thinks you'd disapprove?" Arthur frowns. "Doesn't he know that, whatever you might say to him, you'll always, always..." Arthur trails off, losing his training of thought.

Leon watches Arthur with growing worry. He hopes that Merlin soon realizes that he doesn't need to keep secrets, because Arthur is ready to listen. He hopes that Arthur realizes that Merlin may need a little reassurance in order to speak to him. He hopes the both of them stop being idiots and just talk to each other.

Meanwhile, Gwaine, while not quite as drunk, had about as many questions as Arthur, and was determined to get answers from his companions, Elyan and Percival.

"You don't think Arthur was serious about executing Merlin right?" Gwaine asked, leaning over to make the conversation seem confidential. Elyan was about to assure Gwaine that was ridiculous, but before he could open his mouth Gwaine answered himself, "Nah, he wouldn't. I mean, it's _Merlin!_ What's Arthur gonna arrest him for, being too kindhearted for his own good?"

Elyan smirked at this, but then he asked, "But, does Merlin really know that sorcerer from the prophecy we heard about? I mean, where do you meet a guy like that?"

Gwaine thought about that. He said slowly, but confidently, "I'm not entirely sure. There must be some kind of reason behind it. We just have to wait for him to tell us what's going on."

Elyan scoffed slightly. "What, like he told us about how he really thinks about magic?" He mocked. At Gwaine's frown of disapproval, Elyan sighed and continued, "Face it Gwaine. Merlin's got some secrets that he doesn't want told. Not that it's bad thing, everyone has their secrets. And they're secret for a reason."

Gwaine was very displeased with this answer. "No, it's not like that. Merlin just needs someone to talk to. Someone who'll listen," Gwaine argues. "Not like that prat of a king. But whatever Arthur decides, I'll be on Merlin's side."

Elyan frowned at that, but wisely held his tongue. Percival, on the other hand, spoke up. "Don't be stupid, Gwaine," he says in a low voice. 

Gwaine looks up at him, outraged. "What, you're taking Arthur's side?!" Gwaine exclaims.

Percival rolls his eyes. "I'm saying that there are no sides to take. Ultimately, Merlin and Arthur are on the same side, they both think that, with time magic should be legalized in Camelot."

Gwaine frowned. "Well, yeah, but-"

"But nothing. Merlin and Arthur are on the same side. All they have to do is realize that."

While Arthur was wallowing away his thoughts in Leon and his alcohol, and Gwaine was griping to Percival and Elyan, Mordred watched in silence. He had some questions too. He had originally thought that it wold be so great, that Merlin and Arthur were finally on the same page. They both thought that magic shouldn't be illegal! Shouldn't they be happy? Mordred had been happy. But then Merlin had brushed him off. Why did he always do that? Why couldn't Merlin ever talk to him? They were supposed to be confidents, both keeping the other's secret. Why did Merlin continually isolate himself?

Merlin can't keep it all locked in, he had to let his feelings out sometime, right?

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And then, and then Arthur just walked away! Without saying anything else! I mean the nerve of the prat. I finally tell him what he'd been asking about, and he doesn't even respond? What's his problem?" Merlin gripes.

"Merlin, I don't think I'm the right person for you to talk to about this."

"What? Don't be ridiculous! It's fine." Merlin assured the dragon. It was nearing dark now, but Merlin felt that this was important. He had run out to the woods, and once he was far enough, called for Kilgharrah to come and talk. They met up at a large opening deep inside the woods where they could speak freely. Merlin continued, "Besides Kilgharrah, I wanted to ask you something. What do you know about truth spells? I could ask Gaius or Mordred, but-"

"Mordred!" Kilgharrah exclaimed. "You're speaking to the druid boy? You do remember what I have said about him-"

Merlin winced, forgetting about Kilgharrah's aversion to Mordred. "Um, yeah it's fine, he's not going to kill Arthur, we talked about it. But about the truth spell-"

"Merlin!" Kilgharrah roared. "The druid boy is dangerous, you can't trust what he says! You know the prophecy."

Merlin started to grow angry at Kilgharrah's assumptions. "Yeah, I know about prophecies. But I also know what happened the last time I listened to you about a prophecy," Merlin spoke coolly, by his eyes were glowing with fury, as he glared up at the dragon. "You told me to be wary of Morgana, because of what she would become. And so I was. But if I hadn't listened to you, if I had helped her along her path instead of pushing her away-!"

"Be careful, young warlock," the dragon warned. "That you don't let your power go to your head. Avoiding a prophecy is trickier than it seems."

Merlin sighs, frustrated. "I don't know why I thought this was a good idea, all you ever say is to be careful. You're just annoyed that I figured out how to help myself for once. And you know what, I'm gonna continue to help myself. I don't need to you to figure out this truth spell!" With that, Merlin stomped off through the forest, back towards Camelot.

"A truth spell?" Kilgharrah mutters to himself, once the warlock is a distant figure. "Does he mean that he has a truth spell on him? Oh, that just spells disaster."

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, a witch is watching from the woods. Having witnessed Merlin speak an odd language, which resulted in the great dragon, who was supposed to be dead, flying out of the sky, it was easy to say that Morgana was confused. 

Was it even possible that Merlin was a dragonlord? Is that why he lied about the great dragon being dead? Why was he talking with the creature that attacked Camelot?

And why had he said that about Morgana?

Merlin had known about Morgana? Not only that she had magic, but that she would turn against Uther? And he didn't do anything about it, didn't try to warn her, or even help her? How dare he? How could he? Because a dragon told him to?

Morgana suddenly gave a smirk. She currently had a lot of questions, but she would certainly get her answers.

\----------------------------------------

Where was that pounding coming from?

Oh, it was from inside Arthur's head. "Ugh," he groaned, and rolled over to hide his face from the morning sunlight. He was curled up under the covers off the large royal bed.

"Rise and shine, sire," called out a smooth and gentle voice, close to ear.

 _Definitely not Merlin then,_ Arthur thought to himself. He gathered the courage to peek out only to see the lovely figure of his wife sitting on the bed next to him. "Good morning," he said sleepily, with a goofy grin on his face. He always loved waking up to Guinevere.

His wife smiled coyly back. "' _Good_ morning huh? How much do you remember of yesterday?" She asked playfully, but there was concern in her eyes. 

Arthur thought back, then groaned as it came to him. "Ugh," he groaned and hid himself away again. 

Gwen laughed lightly. "Don't worry, Elyan explained everything that happened when the knights dropped you off." She didn't get a response, so she gently pushed further, "So, Merlin knows Emrys huh?"

Arthur groaned again. 

Gwen narrowed her eyes, and continued, "And his views on magic are quite interesting. Must have put a lot of thought into them. Kind of like you." Still no response. "I suppose that the public endorsement of magic is a step in the right direction. It might get some people thinking to hear the manservant of the king say such things."

Arthur poked his head out to glare at Guinevere. "I just, I don't get why he didn't tell me any of this before. I mean, I talked to you about the druid treaty before I did anything."

Gwen smiled sweetly as Arthur walked into her trap. "Well honey, you talked to me because I'm your best friend, so we can talk everything out, right?" She questioned. At Arthur's nod she continued innocently, "Well then, were you expecting Merlin to talk to you about everything because you're his best friend?"

Arthur's eyes widened on horror at that conclusion. "No! That's not what I meant! It's just that, I mean, he's _Merlin_!" Arthur said, trying to make her understand. "He's simple, and stupid, he's not supposed to have secrets at all, let alone keep them from me! I'm his- I'm his king!"

Guinevere listened to Arthur quietly. She waited a moment, then asked, "Maybe he hides secrets because you say things like that." Arthur was about to argue, but she cut him off. "No Arthur, hear me out. If you treat him like a simpleton, how is he supposed to confide in you with difficult matters like this? I know the two of you like to tease each other, but sometimes words have a way of seeping into our subconscious. He probably felt that you wouldn't understand, or that you would make fun of him for his views."

Arthur thought deeply on this. Was this what had actually happened? Had he been hurting Merlin without realizing it? Did Merlin think that Arthur wouldn't listen to him even if he tried to tell him? The thoughts swirled in his mind. Finally, he asked, "Well, what can I do about it?"

Gwen smiled. This was the question she had been hoping for. She explained, "You need to talk to Merlin. Let him know that you are always there for him, and that you'll listen if he ever has anything to say. Make him feel valued, let him know that he matters to you. Maybe tell him a secret of your own, to show him that you're serious. Don't push him, but set him at ease."

Arthur thought about this for a second. "Is there anything else I could do instead?"

Guinevere scowled at her husband. "Absolutely not. Now go talk to him," she demanded. Then she manhandled the covers from Arthur and dragged him out of the bed.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Merlin!"

Merlin turned around heart hammering. Then he relaxed. "Oh, hey Gwaine, Mordred." It's not that he was avoiding Arthur right now, it's just that so far he hadn't seen him since 'the incident' and he wasn't exactly keen to change that. So yeah, he was glad to see Gwaine and Mordred's smiling faces behind him in the corridor. Well, Gwaine was smiling, but Mordred seemed to be upset.

Gwaine clamped a hand down on Merlin's shoulder. "How are you, then?" The trio continue walking down the hallway together. 

Merlin smiles and says "I'm not doing fine, thanks for asking." He then curses at himself for trying to lie and forgetting about his truth spell. 

Gwaine scowls at Merlin's response. "It's the king isn't it?" He guessed, then muttered, frustrated, "Honestly, who thought that a monarchy was a good idea? It let someone like princess take charge."

"No, no, don't say that," Merlin cut off hurriedly. "For all his faults, Arthur's the best thing that could have happened to Camelot. He's-"

_Why didn't you talk to me about this?_

Startled, Merlin looks over at Mordred inquisitively, but the druid was staring resolutely ahead of himself. "He's um, He's just a great king," Merlin finishes his sentence to Gwaine lamely. Then he speaks to Mordred. _What are you talking about, Mordred? And can we not mind-speak when there are other people present? It's just too dangerous. I'll talk to you later, okay?_

Gwaine doesn't take notice of Merlin's odd behavior, but he doesn't look happy with the response. "I knew you'd say something like that. Well, whatever happens, just know that I'm on your side. I'm here if you need someone to talk to," Gwaine says.

Mordred is not very happy either. _About how Arthur reacted to your views on magic! I thought we were past hiding secrets from each other. We're in the same position here, you should be able to talk to me about anything!_

Merlin was also very unhappy with this turn of events. "Um, yes? No, wait, I mean thank you!" Merlin says aloud to Gwaine. To Mordred he says, _I know that Mordred, and I'm sorry if you felt like I wouldn't confide in you, but it's not like that!_ Merlin is very confused. He's not entirely sure where this is coming from. He had sort of blown off Mordred yesterday, but it wasn't anything personal, he just wasn't sure what to do, so he freaked and had to get out of the situation.

 _What, like you're not confiding in Gwaine right now?_ Mordred asked sarcastically.

Merlin gave him a look. He was barely saying anything to Gwaine, why was Mordred acting like he was spilling all his secrets? _Mordred, I just don't want to talk about it, okay? With you or with Gwaine._ But then, speaking of Gwaine, Merlin glances over towards him and realizes that he hadn't spoken in a little and had been looking at Mordred oddly. Gwaine is giving him a suspicious look. "Sorry! You were saying?" Merlin asks, as innocently as a guilty person can ask.

Gwaine and Mordred were both looking at him sadly. _"Merlin, I'm your friend. You can talk to me,"_ they spoke at the same time, one out loud the other in Merlin's mind.

"Oh." Merlin says, caught off guard. "That's uh, wow, thank you." It was always nice to know that you had someone willing to listen, but to have two people say it at the same time was pretty incredible. He speaks to them directly. _Thanks Gwaine, it really means a lot to me. I promise that in time I'll tell you everything, but for now, just know that I appreciate it,_ he mindspeaks. Then he speaks aloud "Thank you Mordred. You're right, I should be able to confide in you with anything concerning my magic, I'm sorry I didn't before I'm just used to..."

Merlin trails off as he sees Gwaine furrow his brows, thoroughly confused. Merlin realizes his mistake. "You're not Mordred," he says, lamely. 

"No, I'm not," Gwaine replies easily, still looking confused but with humor in his eyes. Mordred is looking on the scene with worry, but isn't sure what he could say now. They've stopped walking at this point, the conversation taking precedence.

Merlin is horrified. He had spoken about his magic. Out loud. To Gwaine. He hurries to explain, "I didn't mean to say that out loud, I meant to speak to Mordred telepathically." He groans as the words he speaks are changed from the truth spell. Needing someone to blame, he turns to Mordred and says, "This is your fault, I told you to stop talking to me while I was talking to Gwaine!"

Mordred's eyes widen, and he stares guiltily at Merlin, mouth opening to speak but unable to come up with an excuse. He had been really upset and so wanted answers, and hadn't thought too hard about the consequences, such as this. Perhaps he had been acting childishly, but he had been worried about Merlin, and how much he kept to himself. 

Gwaine however, laughs loudly before anyone else can say anything. The two magic users turn to him, warily. Gwaine smiles kindly and says, "Don't worry so much Merls, I already knew." He tosses the words out, then continues walking, leaving Merlin and Mordred behind.

Mordred and Merlin look at each other, then quickly catch up with Gwaine.

"Sorry, what was that? Did you say you already knew about my..." Merlin starts, but instead of saying the word 'magic', Merlin put his hand out and wiggled it a little.

Gwaine watches Merlin's hand wiggle with amusement. He says, "Yes Merlin, I've known for a long time about your..." Gwaine imitates Merlin's hand wiggle.

Merlin glances over at Mordred who looks just as lost as Merlin feels. He asks, "Well, why didn't you say anything?"

Now Gwaine's smile grows sad. He shrugs. "Because you never said anything," he explains simply, then continues, "I wanted to wait until you were ready to tell me, so I could be there for you. But hey, you accidentally telling me is close enough."

Merlin felt for Gwaine. All this time, he had just been waiting for Merlin to get his act together. "Gwaine, I- I'm so sorry. I should have told you sooner about my magic, I've been an awful friend to you."

Gwaine gave a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Don't worry about me Merls. But now that you know that I know, I hope you know you can talk to me."

Before Merlin could respond, Mordred spoke up,"And me. I know I was being rather," Mordred struggles to find a good word. Merlin gives him a look. He settles on, "pushy. But It's only because after all that we've been through, I want you to trust me. Like I trust you." Morderd speaks earnestly, looking Merlin in the eye.

Merlin is slightly stunned at first. Then, he simply smiles broadly, unable to properly express his gratitude towards his friends. Finally, he says, "Thank you both. You don't know how much it means to me. I've always thought of this as some burden that I had to carry by myself, it'll be good change of pace to have people that can help me out. Ever since Lancelot died-"

"Merlin! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Merlin sighs, happy for the interruption. He hadn't meant to talk so much about how he felt, it just came out because of that truth spell. He really had to figure that out. And soon. 

But that's when Merlin realized who it was that was looking for him. He had turned around gratefully, only to find himself face to face with the king. 

"Arthur," Merlin says, surprised. It's not a great greeting, but Merlin isn't sure yet what Arthur wants, so he'd rather stay with a neutral attitude. 

However, Arthur grins and wraps an arm around Merlin's shoulders, leading him away from Gwaine and Mordred. Arthur says to them, "If you two don't mind, I'd like to speak to my manservant privately. C'mon Merlin let's walk to the meeting with the druids together."

Merlin knows without looking that Gwaine will most certainly mind Arthur's interruption, so he mindspeaks to Mordred, _Hey don't worry okay? I would've had to talk to Arthur sometime or another. And tell Gwaine I'll be okay too._ Mordred confirms that he'll pass along the message, so Merlin leaves them behind with ease of mind. Arthur seems not to want to talk until they have a decent amount of privacy, so Merlin takes the time to reflect. Apparently Gwaine already knew Merlin had magic. That was a bit of a hit to Merlin's ego, he thought he did a good job of hiding it from everyone. Well until recently anyway. But more than that, he had kept it a secret, waiting until Merlin was ready. And then there was Mordred, who was in the same position as Merlin, hiding his true nature. All he had wanted was for Merlin to talk to him.

Merlin had friends, he realized. Friends who actually knew what he was going through, who wanted to help him. Merlin didn't have to handle everything alone. Maybe they could even help Merlin with searching through magic books to figure out how to reverse the truth spell that Merlin-

"Merlin, I just wanted to say," Arthur starts, pulling Merlin from his thoughts. Arthur hesitates slightly after that though, not knowing how to continue. "I-well- you know Emrys huh?" Arthur finishes lamely. "You know, you can tell me who he is, it's okay." Arthur wasn't the best with feelings, so instead of outright saying that Merlin could come to him with anything, he was hoping it was enough to tell Merlin that he could talk to him about this certain situation, so that Merlin would feel like he could come to Arthur in future situations.

Merlin however, did not understand all of that from Arthur's statement. Instead, he thought that Arthur was trying to find out who Emrys is, which Merlin really did not want. So he shifted uncomfortably, and asks Arthur, "Is that all you wanted to talk about?" He speaks somewhat coldly, hoping to deter Arthur from the subject.

Arthur is thrown at the short response, he had been hoping that Merlin would open up if he simply told him he could talk to Arthur. Gwen had said something about setting Merlin at ease? How has he supposed to do that? Unsettled, Arthur says awkwardly, "Uh no, I also uh, wanted to make sure that you're all good? Are you, uh, happy?"

Merlin, surprised, looks over to Arthur curiously, however Arthur was determinedly looking at the ground in front of him. Merlin smiles slightly, was Arthur worried about him? He reassures the king cheerfully, "Oh, I'm just dandy, sire."

Arthur relaxes, "Oh, good! That's uh, that's good. So then, is there anything you wanted to talk about? I mean with me?" Merlin just looks at him blankly, so Arthur hurries to continue, "Honestly it's not a big deal if you don't, I'm the king I don't have time to listen to my manservent gripe. But you do know that if there's ever anything, you know, anything serious, that you want to talk about, well I am the king, so I can handle it." Arthur speaks proudly, with his chest and chin, trying despretly to maintain his regalness despite telling a servent that he's always there for him.

Merlin blinks. He had never heard Arthur talking so thoughtfully, despite how many times he reminded Merlin that he was the king. Gwen must of told him what to say. But still, it was really nice. Apparently he had three friends who wanted him to talk to them. Even if Arthur didn't know about his magic, he still cared for Merlin. Merlin says seriously, "Thank you Arthur." But then, to set the king at ease, Merlin says easily, "But I'm kinda all talked out now and we should probably get going to the last druid meeting, it's starting soon."

Arthur nods, happy to stop talking about emotions. He jokes, "Just make sure not to interrupt this one too. Honestly, I can't believe I have the only manservent so incompetent that he actually manages to trip while standing still. How do you manage it Merlin?" 

As Merlin insists that was _not_ his fault, the duo head down to the meeting room in order to finalize the peace treaty between Camelot and the druids, taking the first step towards Albion, together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of changing perspectives here huh? Everyone's got something to say. (Especially the obligatory drunk arthur, poor baby) Good thing they were able to work it out in the end though. For now anyway. I've been pretty mean lately, so I thought I'd give you one happy scene. (Things are gonna get worse before they get better, I'm sorry I don't make the rules)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Shout out to the people who stuck with this fic through all the long waits! I love you guys! I do think I'm going to try and wrap this up soon though, I don't wanna drag it out too long. Just a question, you guys do want a reveal right? It'd probably be towards the very end.
> 
> Next up: Look forward to the final peace talk meeting, a speech, an interruption, and a talk about dragons, and what they have to do with Merlin.


	11. Well crap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last meeting about the peace treaty is afoot! But more than politics will be discussed.

The last peace meeting starts off the same as the others. Boring. Merlin tries to pay attention, especially because he only just got back into the King’s good graces.

But still, Merlin’s mind drifts. He decides that it's time for him to get rid of whatever truth spell Morgana had put on him. Assuming it was a truth spell, and assuming it was Morgana. It really goes to show how much he knew about what was going on. All he knew was that it had started to get dangerous, and he could no longer risk it.

Merlin had just decided that he would ask Mordred what he knew about truth spells after the meeting was over, when he heard Arthur announce, “Alright then! Looks like we’re just about done. There’s just one more item we need to address, and then we can both sign the treaty.”

“Oh?” Behar asked, raising an eyebrow. It appeared he had not expected anything else. But still he entertained the idea. “And what would that be?”

Arthur smiled slightly. He explained slowly, “I think that it would benefit us both if there was a druid presence in my court. Someone who would give a voice to your people during court meetings. Therefore, I’ve decided to create the position of druid ambassador.”

The room, which had previously been silent, suddenly burst into a cacophony of murmurings. The druids muttered approvingly of this idea. It seemed they appreciated the representation that Arthur was proposing. The court members of Camelot however, were less approving. The older members from King Uther’s reign were especially uncomfortable with the idea. It was obvious that Arthur had not brought it up for discussion prior to the meeting. Perhaps that was because he knew that they would never agree to allow one of the druids into the inner court.

Still, Arthur persisted. He raised a hand, silencing his court. The druids also fell silent. Behar watched in interest, and seemed curious as to what Arthur would propose. King Arthur turned slightly to where his knights were standing, and waved Mordred forward to stand with him. Mordred, for his part, walked confidently to the center of the room, and towards the king. However, Merlin could sense the nervous energy within him. Once he was close enough to Arthur, he bowed slightly to the King, and then turned towards the rest of the druids.

Arthur slapped a hand on Mordred’s back and left it resting there, in a show of support. He explained, “Mordred, one of my knights, grew up as a druid boy. Because he has inner knowledge of both the druid culture as well as life in Camelot, I think he would be the perfect candidate for a druid ambassador.” Mordred visibly shined at the King’s praise.

The rest of the room however, was less enthused. The Camelot court seemed uncomfortable with the idea of a commoner knight becoming a member of the court. And it also appeared, if their unamused mutterings were any indication, that the druids were not satisfied with Mordred. Merlin caught eyes with a young druid woman, who looked at him as if to say ‘you should be the one standing next to Arthur. You should be the one who is a part of Arthur’s court.'

Harried, Merlin looked down. He heard Behar speak up on behalf of his people. “Ah, my dear King Arthur, I congratulate you on your forward-thinking. If us druids continue to reside in the forests, while still under your jurisdiction, it would ease our minds to know that we have representation in your court.” Both Mordred and Arthur were looking at Behar with hope, hope that he would confirm both the idea and person. But Behar continued delicately, “However, are you certain that a knight would be the best choice?”

Arthur frowned. “I’m not sure why not,” he challenged. “Mordred is a brilliant knight with a strong tactical mind, and with his upbringing as a druid, I think he would be the best choice.” Clearly, Arthur had not presumed there would be a problem, and he seemed confused as to why.

Behar hesitated, not wanting to give offense. “I mean nothing against your knights of course. It’s only… druids are peaceful people. We do not stand for violence. Having a fighter as our representative seems unfitting. Perhaps,” Behar suggests, his eyes glancing quickly towards Merlin, who stands behind and to the left of Arthur, “perhaps someone who serves would be a more fitting -”

“I think,” Merlin cuts in suddenly, his heart pounding. Arthur shoots him an angry look; a manservant should not be speaking up at an official meeting. But Merlin knew where Behar was going, he knew that if he didn’t stop him, Behar would have suggested Merlin as an ambassador for them, and Merlin couldn’t risk that. So he continues, “ I think, that Arthur- King Arthur, I mean – is right. Mordred is perfect for the position of druid ambassador. Growing up in a druid colony, he knows all about your culture and your ideals. And being a knight here in Camelot, Mordred has also learned about politics from King Arthur’s court. He will be able to use his experiences as a druid to give you a voice, an accurate and willing voice. Mordred was practically born for this position. I beg of you, please give him a chance.”

The room is silent for a few moments as they digest the words of Arthur’s servant. The druids look at Merlin reverently as if he just gave a life-changing speech. Arthur looks like he is torn between yelling at Merlin and patting him on the back. Mordred looks over at Merlin with wonder in his eyes. _Merlin, I…_ He starts to say thankfully, his voice within Merlin’s mind thick with emotion.

Merlin stops him with the mental equivalent of the wave of a hand, saying _I spoke only the truth Mordred._ Predictably, Mordred’s only grow cloudier with that proclamation. But Merlin turns away from him, to look back at Behar. Behar is looking at him curiously. He explains, _I do not know enough about your people to properly represent you. Mordred is a good man, and he will do a good job as your ambassador, if you will let him._

Behar gives him a calculating look. Then, he smiles. Generously, he says, “I thank you for your opinion, Merlin. It is very enlightening. If you are so certain, then I believe you.” Arthur looks at Merlin quizzically. How had Merlin succeeded in convincing Behar where he had failed? But before he could voice his thoughts, Behar continues. He turns towards Mordred. Apologetically, he explains, “Young druid, I hope you will excuse my previous uncertainty. It was nothing against you personally. I do hope you would still be willing to be an ambassador for my people?”

Mordred glanced with nervous excitement at Merlin before calmly nodding his head in respect and saying, “Of course chieftain Behar, thank you for having me. I will do my best to represent the druid population of Camelot and uphold your ideals and morals while in court.”

“Well, that’s settled,” Arthur announces grandly, feeling a bit left out. With a polite smile, he puts a hand on Merlin’s shoulder, and firmly pushes him back to his position slightly behind the king. “Now, unless there’s anything else we need to discuss, I think we can now sign the peace treaty, symbolizing peace between Camelot and-

“Wait!” comes a voice, as the doors to the meeting room are pushed open. Merlin stares in horror to see the old woman dressed in black standing there. He glances at Mordred and knows that he senses it to be Morgana as well. They had been too distracted, and neither had sensed her coming.

Arthur looks at the woman in confusion. He asks “Ma’am, what are you doing here? Did the guards let you in? This is a closed meeting, but I’ll have a forum open to the public later today, where you can voice any questions or concerns you may have-”

The woman suddenly cackles loudly, not letting Arthur finish. “Oooh but this is not a public matter. No, it’s actually quite private. Isn’t that right Merlin?” She gives a nasty grin at the warlock, her eyes glittering evilly.

Merlin freezes for a moment. He’s not sure what exactly Morgana means, but there are enough private matters of Merlin’s that he does not want public. He turns to Arthur and says urgently, “Arthur, that’s Morgana. Look into her eyes, it’s her!”

Arthur’s eyes narrow initially. He glances at the woman before saying to Merlin, “Merlin, what are you talking about? She looks nothing like…” Arthur trails off, as he turns back to the old woman. Morgana smiles at her brother, sweetly. Arthur gasps lowly and whispers, “Morgana?” His eyes widen with understanding and anger, and he unsheathes his sword, pointing it in her direction. The knights of Camelot follow his lead, hesitating only slightly.

Morgana rolls her eyes. “Yes dear brother, you’ve seen right through my ruse. And relax, I’m not here for you. This time anyway.” With a casual wave of her hand, she magically knocks down all of the swords that were pointed towards her, so they all lie in a pile. Arthur looks at his now-empty hand, bewildered. Morgana continues, “Anyway, I only have a little question for your dear manservant, and then I’ll be leaving.” She turns to Merlin, a cruel grin on her face. She pretends to think, putting a finger on her lip. “Now Merlin, I have to wonder, did Arthur really kill the Great Dragon?” 

Merlin’s blood turns to ice. How in the world is he supposed to get out of this when he’s under a truth spell? Morgana must have been the one to put him under the spell. But what does she know about Kilgharrah?

While Merlin is trying to think of something to say in response, Arthur asks, confused, “What kind of question is that? Of course I did.” He turns to Merlin, “Merlin? What are you waiting for? Just tell her.”

Merlin looks at Arthur desperately, trying to communicate without words. When Arthur just gives him an even more confused look, Merlin tries to explain, “Arthur, Morgana she, I think she put a truth spell or something on me a few days ago. I can’t lie.”

Morgana smirks triumphantly, while the rest of the room awkwardly stares in silence. Arthur looks at Merlin like he’s crazy. “What are you talking about Merlin?" he demands. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

Merlin shifts uncomfortably. “I don’t know, I was just kind of busy, I guess,” he mutters. Though he realizes that Arthur has a point, and Merlin really should have figured this out sooner. Ah well, too late now. Merlin sees Mordred give him a hurt look and winces. He really should have asked for help sooner.

“Well, I’ll be leaving now,” Morgana announces. “But dear brother, you must ask yourself, if Merlin’s under a truth spell, why can’t he answer my simple little question?” With that, Morgana dramatically whips around, and disappears in a puff of purple smoke.

Nervous, but trying to act normal, Merlin said, “Well, that was odd. Ha ha. Now, I think there’s a peace treaty that need signing?” Merlin laughs awkwardly, but no one else joins him.

Arthur was looking at Merlin as if seeing him for the first time. “Merlin,” he says slowly. “You told me that I killed the dragon.”

Merlin desperately tried to think of a way out of this but was coming up blank. Shakily, he laughs. “Yeah, that is what I said,” he agrees.

Arthur’s face hardens. That was not what he wanted to hear. Firmer now, he asks, “Merlin, did I kill the Great Dragon?"

Glancing nervously at the gathered druids and knights. He replies, “Arthur, I can’t- I mean she-please, Arthur not here, not now,” Merlin begs. Just his luck that Morgana decided to choose him for her ruddy truth spell.

Arthur glowers. “Answer my question Merlin! Did I or did I not kill the Great Dragon?”

There’s nothing left that Merlin can say. He looks down, not wanting to see Arthur’s pinched and angry face when he hears the truth. “No,” he admits. “You didn’t.”

It’s silent for a moment. Merlin slowly lifts his head up to see something worse than an angry Arthur. A disappointed one. Arthur asks doubtfully. “But then, who- did you kill the dragon?” There is an uncertainty in his voice that makes Merlin wince. It’s like Arthur no longer knows what Merlin is capable of, and can’t trust anything he thought he knew about Merlin.

Merlin is glad that he can honestly answer, “No, I didn’t.”

“Well then, who did?” Arthur asks wearily.

Merlin is less glad now. He runs a nervous hand through his hair as he tries to think of an appropriate answer. “Arthur…”

But Arthur does not want any of Merlin’s hesitance. He demands. “Tell me Merlin. Who really killed the dragon?”

Merlin takes a deep breath. He knows that at this point, there’s no going back. Arthur may be dense some of the time, but there’s no way he will let this go until he figures it all out. So, with a heavy heart, Merlin admits lowly, “No one. No one killed him.”

Arthur gives Merlin a confused look, before understanding sets in. He asks incredulously, “You’re saying, you’re saying that that thing is still alive?" But it's not really a question.

Merlin’s silence is an answer in itself. Arthur shakes his head with disbelief. “Get out,” he tells Merlin, calmly.

“What?” Merlin asks, caught off guard.

“Get out!” Arthur yells. When Merlin startles at the yell, Arthur sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Look, you and me are going to have a chat about this later. But for now, I need to finish this treaty. And I can’t do it with you here. So please, just leave.”

Merlin watches as Arthur turns back to the druids, apologizing to them. Behar brushes it off as fine, but the air is still tense in the room. Merlin speaks quietly, “I- I’m sorry, Arthur.” Arthur’s frame stiffens, but other than that he ignores Merlin’s words.

With nothing left to say, Merlin walks out, leaving the talk of peace behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it. A year late. Sorry about that. I'll try to have the next one out sooner.
> 
> Next chapter: Merlin and Arthur have a 'chat'. How will Arthur respond to Merlin' s confessions?
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


End file.
